THE  DEDICATION  OF  THE 
NEW  BUILDINGS 


OF  THE 


Union  Theological  Seminary 


IN    THE    CITY   OF    NEW   YORK 


November  27,  28  and  29,  1910 


Broadway  and  One  Hundred  and  Twentieth  Street 
New  York 


THE   DEDICATION  OF  THE 
NEW  BUILDINGS 


OF  THE 


Union  Theological  Seminary 


IN    THE    CITY   OF    NEW   YORK 


November  27,  28  and  29,  i9io 


Broadway  and  One  Hundred  and  Twentieth  Street 
New  York 


CONTENTS 


PACE 

7 
13 

16 

17 
17 

18 


24 
28 

31 


I.     Historical  Statement 

II.     The  Exercises  of  Dedication     . 

1.  The  Sunday  Morning  Service  ... 

2.  The  Communion  on  Sunday  Afternoon 

3.  The  Student  Meeting  on  Monday  Evening 

4.  The  Alumni  Meeting  on  Tuesday  Morning 

5.  The  Dedication  Service  on  Tuesday  After 

noon 

6.  The  Dinner  on  Tuesday  Evening    . 

III.  The  Institutions  Represented 

IV.  The    Dedication     Sermon    by    the    Reverend 

Professor   Henry   Sloane  Coffin,  D.D.       39 

V.     The  Addresses  at  the  Student  Meeting     .       49 

1.  Historical  Address  by  the  Reverend  Professor 

William  Adams  Brown,  Ph.D.,  D.D.     .       51 

2.  Address  by  President  Jacob  Gould  Schur- 

MAN,  Sc.D.,  LL.D.,  "Some  Elements  of 
Religious  Progress" 63 

VI.     The  Addresses  at  the  Alumni  Meeting.        .       71 

1.  Address  by  the  Reverend  Francis  Brown, 

Ph.D.,  D.D.,  D.Litt.,  LL.D.,  "The  Sem- 
inary's New  Era" 73 

2.  Address  by  the  Reverend  Henry  Hamlin 

Stebbins,  D.D.,  "The  Claim  of  the  King- 
dom upon  the  Seminary"     ....        76 

3.  Address  by  the  Reverend  William  Pierson 

Merrill,  D.D.,  "Our  Gospel"  .        .  84 

4.  Address  by  the  Reverend  Howard  Sweet- 

SER  Bliss,  D.D.,  "The  Christian  Mission- 
ary and  his  Message  in  the  Twentieth 
Century" 92 

VII.     The  Addresses  at  the  Dedication  Service   .     105 

I.  The  Presentation  Address  by  the  President 
of  the  Board  of  Directors,  Robert  Curtis 

Ogden,  LL.D.,  L.H.D 107 

3 


4 

PAGE 

2.  The  Response  for  the  Faculty  by  the  Rev- 

erend President  Francis  Brown,  Ph.D., 
D.D.,  D.Litt.,  LL.D 112 

3.  The    Dedication  ¥Address    by    the    Senior 

Professor,  the  Reverend  Charles  Augus- 
tus Briggs,  D.D.,  D.Litt 115 

VIII.     The  Responses  at  the  Dinner  ....     137 

1.  Address  of  Welcome  by  the  President  of  the 

Board  of  Directors,  Robert  Curtis  Ogden, 
LL.D.,  L.H.D 139 

2.  Response  by  President  Nicholas  Murray 

Butler,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.,  D.Litt.,  of  Co- 
lumbia University — "Our  Neighbors"  141 

3.  Response  by  the  Right  Reverend  David  H. 

Greer,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  S.T.D.,  Bishop  of 
New  York— "The  City"      .        .  .143 

4.  Response  by  the  Reverend  George  Alex- 

ander, D.D.,  Moderator  of  the  Presby- 
tery of  New  York— "The  World"      .        .      146 

5.  Response  of  the  Reverend  Professor  Edward 

C.  MooRE,  D.D.,  of  Harvard  University — 
"The  University." 147 

6.  Response  by  the  Right  Reverend  William 

Lawrence,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Bishop  of  Massa- 
chusetts— "Our  Friends  Across  the  Sea"  .      155 

7.  Response  by  the  Reverend  Professor  George 

William  Knox,  D.D.,  LL.D.— "The 
Seminary" 157 

8.  Response  by  the  Reverend  President  James 

G.  K.  McClure,  D.D.,  of  McCormick 
Theological  Seminary  —  "  Sister  Semi- 
naries"      160 

9.  Response  by  the  Reverend  President  Will- 

iam H.  P.  Faunce,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  of  Brown 
University — "The  Spirit  of  Service"   .  163 

ID.  Response  by  the  Reverend  President  Francis 
Brown,  Ph.D.,  D.D.,  D.Litt.,  LL.D.— 
"Retrospect  and  Prospect"         .  165 


HISTORICAL    STATEMENT 


HISTORICAL    STATEMENT 

The  Union  Theological  Seminary  in  the  City  of  New  York 
was  founded  by  a  group  of  Christian  ministers  and  laymen  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  who  believed  that  it  was  wise  to 
plant  a  training  school  for  ministers  in  a  great  city.  They 
met  first  October  lo,  1835,  and.  after  three  intermediate  meet- 
ings, constituted  a  Board  of  Directors  by  the  election  of  ten 
ministers  and  fourteen  laymen,  November  9  and  16,  1835. 
This  Board  of  Directors  held  its  first  meeting  January  18, 
1836,  when  it  chose  its  officers,  appointed  its  committees, 
adopted  the  Preamble,  and  proceeded  to  further  business.  Jan- 
uary 18,  1836,  is  therefore  regarded  as  the  official  date  of  the 
founding  of  the  Seminary. 

The  Seminary  was  opened  for  instruction  on  Monday,  De- 
cember 5,  1836.  The  Legislature  of  the  State  of  New  York 
passed  the  Act  of  Incorporation,  March  27,  1839,  and  this  was 
accepted  by  the  Board  of  Directors,  December  20,  1839. 

The  Founders  of  the  Seminary  were  Presbyterians  of  the 
broader  type  represented  in  the  New  School  branch  of  the 
Church,  and  had  many  affiliations  with  New  England  Congre- 
gationalism. They  had  in  view  a  service  of  wider  boundaries 
than  those  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  alone.  The  Seminary 
has  been  from  the  outset  independent  of  any  ecclesiastical  con- 
trol. The  only  approach  to  this  was  that  on  May  16,  1870. 
a  few  months  after  the  Reunion  of  the  Old  and  New  School 
wings  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  of 
America,  it  conceded  to  the  General  Assembly  of  that  Church 
the  right  of  veto  on  the  election  of  its  Professors,  in  the  in- 
terests of  harmony  within  the  Church,  and  of  similarity  of 
standing  for  all  its  Theological  Seminaries.  This  concession 
was  withdrawn  October  13,  1892.  Now,  as  heretofore,  Union 
Seminary  is  ecclesiastically  independent,  according  to  the  plan 
of  its  Founders,  and  the  provisions  of  its  Charter. 

For  many  years  the  Directors  and  Professors  gave  their 
assent  to  the  Westminster  Standards,  the  exact  formula  vary- 
ing from  time  to  time.  Since  1905  this  requirement  has  ceased, 
and  a  new  form  of  declaration  has  been  provided,  which  se- 


cures  the  Christian  character  of  the  institution  in  more  com- 
prehensive terms.  At  the  present  time  the  Board  of  Directors 
and  the  Faculty  include  representatives  of  the  Presbyterian, 
Congregational,  Protestant  Episcopal,  Baptist,  and  Methodist 
Episcopal  Churches. 

The  principles  underlying  the  foundation  of  the  Seminary 
were  expressed  in  the  Preamble  adopted  at  the  beginning  by 
the  Founders.    The  Preamble  reads  as  follows: 

Preamble 

That  the  design  of  the  Founders  of  the  Seminary  may  be 
fully  known  to  all  whom  it  may  concern,  and  be  sacredly  re- 
garded by  the  Directors,  Professors  and  Students,  it  is  judged 
proper  to  make  the  following  preliminary  statement : 

A  number  of  Christians,  both  clergymen  and  laymen,  in  the 
cities  of  New  York  and  Brooklyn,  deeply  impressed  with  the 
claims  of  the  world  upon  the  Church  of  Christ  to  furnish  a 
competent  supply  of  well-educated  and  pious  ministers  of  the 
Gospel ;  impressed  also  with  the  inadequacy  of  all  existing 
means  for  this  purpose ;  and  believing  that  large  cities  furnish 
many  peculiar  facilities  and  advantages  for  conducting  the- 
ological education;  having,  after  several  meetings  for  consulta- 
tion and  prayer,  again  convened  on  the  i8th  of  January,  A.  D. 
1836,  unanimously  adopted  the  following  resolutions  and  decla- 
rations : 

1.  Resolved,  in  humble  dependence  on  the  grace  of  God, 
to  attempt  the  establishment  of  a  Theological  Seminary  in  the 
City  of  New  York. 

2.  This  Institution  (while  it  will  receive  others  to  the  ad- 
vantages it  may  furnish)  is  principally  designed  for  such 
young  men  in  the  cities  of  New  York  and  Brooklyn  as  are,  or 
may  be,  desirous  of  pursuing  a  course  of  theological  study,  and 
whose  circumstances  render  it  inconvenient  for  them  to  go 
from  home  for  this  purpose. 

3.  It  is  the  design  of  the  Founders  to  furnish  the  means 
of  a  full  and  thorough  education,  in  all  the  subjects  taught  in 
the  best  Theological  Seminaries  in  the  United  States,  and  also 
to  embrace  therewith  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  standards 
of  faith  and  discipline  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

4.  Being  fully  persuaded  that  vital  godliness  well  proved, 
a  thorough  education,  and  a  wholesome  practical  training  in 
works  of  benevolence  and  pastoral  labors,  are  all  essentially 
necessary  to  meet  the  wants  and  promote  the  best  interests  of 


the  kingdom  of  Christ,  the  Founders  of  this  Seminary  design 
that  its  Students,  living  and  acting  under  pastoral  influence, 
and  performing  the  important  duties  of  church  members  in 
the  several  churches  to  which  they  belong,  or  with  which  they 
worship,  in  prayer-meetings,  in  the  instruction  of  Sabbath- 
schools  and  Bible-classes,  and  being  conversant  with  all  the 
social  benevolent  efforts  in  this  important  location,  shall  have 
the  opportunity  of  adding  to  solid  learning  and  true  piety,  en- 
lightened experience. 

5.  By  the  foregoing  advantages,  the  Founders  hope  and 
expect,  with  the  blessing  of  God,  to  call  forth  from  these  two 
flourishing  cities,  and  to  enlist  in  the  service  of  Christ  and  in 
the  work  of  the  ministr}',  genius,  talent,  enlightened  piety  and 
missionary  zeal ;  and  to  qualify  many  for  the  labors  and  man- 
agement of  the  various  religious  institutions,  seminaries  of 
learning,  and  enterprises  of  benevolence,  which  characterize 
the  present  times. 

6.  Finally,  it  is  the  design  of  the  Founders  to  provide  a 
Theological  Seminary  in  the  midst  of  the  greatest  and  most 
growing  community  in  America,  around  which  all  men  of 
moderate  views  and  feelings,  who  desire  to  live  free  from 
party  strife,  and  to  stand  aloof  from  all  extremes  of  doctrinal 
speculation,  practical  radicalism  and  ecclesiastical  domination, 
may  cordially  and  affectionately  rally. 

Requirements  of  the  Charter 

The  Charter  provides  that  "  equal  privileges  of  admission 
and  instruction,  with  all  the  advantages  of  the  Institution, 
shall  be  allowed  to  students  of  every  denomination  of  Chris- 
tians." 

In  fact  instruction  is  given  not  only  in  the  doctrine  and 
polity  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  but  also  in  those  of  other 
leading  Protestant  Churches.  The  student  body  at  the  present 
time  is  made  up  of  members  of  twenty-two  different  Christian 
bodies.  All  of  these  are  urged  to  retain  their  original  connec- 
tion, and  to  enter  the  ministry  of  their  respective  churches. 
The  endeavor  is  made  to  provide  them  all  with  what  they  need 
for  effective  service  to  their  own  people. 

The    New    Buildings 

The  first  Seminary  building  was  at  No.  9  University  Place, 
and  was  dedicated  December  12,  1838.  In  later  years  a  few 
subsidiary   buildings   were   acquired   in  Winthrop   Place    (or 


10 

Greene  Street),  the  next  parallel  street  to  the  east,  and  at  the 
corner  of  Winthrop  Place  and  Clinton  Place  (Eighth  Street). 

In  1884  the  Seminary  moved  to  its  second  home  on  Lenox 
Hill,  where  its  important  group  of  buildings,  with  the  main 
entrance  at  1200  (afterward  700)  Park  Avenue,  was  dedi- 
cated December  9,  1884.  The  generous  benefactions  of  ex- 
Governor  Edwin  D.  Morgan,  supplemented  by  large  gifts 
from  D.  Willis  James,  Esq.,  Morris  K.  Jesup,  LL.D.,  and  oth- 
ers, made  this  move  possible. 

In  1908  the  work  of  constructing  the  Seminary's  third 
group  of  buildings  began.  The  Corner  Stone  was  laid  on 
Tuesday,  November  17,  1908.  The  buildings  were  opened  for 
instruction  on  September  28,  19 10,  and  the  services  of  Dedi- 
cation took  place  on  Sunday,  Monday  and  Tuesday,  Novem- 
ber -zj,  28,  and  29,  1910. 

This  second  move  received  its  impulse  and  its  chief  sup- 
port from  the  princely  contributions  of  Daniel  Willis  James, 
Esq.,  for  forty  years  a  Director,  and  Vice  President  of  the 
Board  since  November  17,  1898,  to  which  after  his  death  Mrs. 
James  made  large  additions.  Generous  contributions  to  the 
Building  Fund  were  also  made  by  other  persons,  including  Mr. 
John  Crosby  Brown,  the  late  President  of  the  Board  of  Di- 
rectors. 

A  brief  description  of  the  buildings  follows : — 

Their  architecture  is  the  English  Perpendicular  Gothic. 
They  occupy  the  double  block  bounded  by  Broadway,  Clare- 
mont  Avenue,  120th  and  I22d  Streets,  and  form  a  large 
rectangle,  enclosing  a  Quadrangle  approximately  300  feet  long 
and  100  feet  wide.  A  part  of  the  west  side,  however,  is  for 
the  present  unoccupied  by  any  building. 

A  tower  at  the  corner  of  Broadway  and  120th  Street  con- 
tains the  main  entrance  hall,  rising  through  three  stories.  Its 
ceiling  is  vaulted  with  fan  tracery.  A  wide  circular  stairway 
leads  to  the  upper  floors  of  the  Library  as  well  as  to  the  class- 
rooms and  Professors'  studies  and  offices  in  the  Administra- 
tion Building.  This  corner  tower  is  designed  to  rise  ultimately 
to  a  height  of  over  200  feet  and  will  then  be  a  striking  feature 
of  the  group. 

The  Library  building  occupies  the  Broadway  side  from  the 
Entrance  Tower  to  the  Library  Tower  opposite  121st  Street. 
On  the  first  floor  are  two  rooms  devoted  to  the  Biblical,  Chris- 
tian and  Missionary  Museum  and  to  the  exhibition  of  rare 
books.  Several  Seminar  rooms  occupy  the  second  and  fourth 
floors.     On  the  third  floor  is  the  Reference  Library,  100  feet 


11 

long  by  40  feet  wide,  with  an  oak  beamed  ceiling.  The  rooms 
for  library  administration  adjoin  this.  The  library  stack  is 
beneath  the  Reference  Library,  and  contains  five  levels  which 
connect  with  various  floors.  The  Library  Tower  rises  over  a 
vaulted  drive-way  with  ornamental  iron  gates,  the  principal 
entrance  to  the  Quadrangle. 

The  Broadway  Tower  opens  also  into  the  Administration 
Building,  which  extends  along  120th  Street.  The  offices  of  the 
Seminary  are  on  the  first  floor ;  on  the  second  and  third  floors 
are  class-rooms  and  a  large  lecture  room ;  the  fourth  and  fifth 
are  divided  into  offices  and  studies  for  Professors  and  In- 
structors. Both  the  Library  and  the  Administration  Building 
have  access  to  a  terrace,  which  rises  above  the  main  level  of 
the  Quadrangle  at  the  south,  and,  from  within,  gives  these 
buildings,  with  the  Chapel,  a  fitting  prominence. 

The  Chapel  stands  on  Claremont  Avenue,  across  the  Quad- 
rangle from  the  Library,  its  lofty  tower  rising  on  the  axis  of 
the  Quadrangle  in  line  with  the  Library  Tower.  This  Chapel 
has  been  erected  as  a  Memorial  to  the  late  D.  Willis  James, 
Esq.,  who  was  a  Director  of  the  Seminary  for  many  years, 
and  its  largest  benefactor.  The  great  chancel  window  was 
designed  and  made  in  England  by  a  firm  which  during  four 
generations  has  produced  some  of  the  best  work  in  the  typical 
English  Antique  glass. 

The  President's  house  occupies  the  corner  of  120th  Street 
and  Claremont  Avenue.  Between  it  and  the  Chapel  is  a  low 
Cloister  enclosing  various  service-rooms  connected  with  the 
Chapel.  On  the  Quadrangle  side  an  interior  Cloister  connects 
the  entire  group  of  buildings. 

An  Apartment  House  bounds  the  Quadrangle  on  I22d 
Street,  and  provides  residences  for  ten  Professors. 

The  Students'  Dormitory  extends  from  121st  to  I22d 
Street  on  Broadway  and  contains  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
sets  of  rooms.  Most  of  these  comprise  a  study  with  bedroom 
adjoining;  a  few  sets  consist  of  a  study  and  two  bedrooms. 
Ample  toilet  accommodations  are  provided  on  each  floor.  In 
the  Library  Tower,  with  direct  access  from  the  Dormitory,  is 
a  Social  Room  for  the  use  of  the  Students. 

The  buildings  are  of  native  stone  taken  from  the  site,  the 
window  tracery  and  finished  trimmings  being  of  Indiana  lime- 
stone. A  marked  detail  of  the  ornamentation  is  the  series  of 
academic  seals  and  shields,  carved  in  this  limestone,  on  several 
faces  of  the  Administration  Building  and  Library. 

The  buildings  are  fireproof  throughout,  are  heated  by  steam 


12 

and  lighted  by  electricity,  and  are  ventilated  in  the  most  ap- 
proved manner.  The  main  heating  and  lighting  plant  of  the 
group  is  placed  underneath  the  Dormitory  at  the  lowest  point 
of  the  site. 

The  Quadrangle  is  turfed  and  will  be  planted,  so  as  to 
form  an  attractive  and  quiet  enclosure. 

The  architects  of  the  buildings  are  Messrs.  Allen  &  CoUens 
of  Boston,  Mass. 


II 

THE    EXERCISES    OF    DEDICATION 

I   The  Sunday  Morning  Service 

1  The  Communion  on  Sunday  Afternoon 

3  The  Student  Meeting  on  Monday  Evening 

4  The  Alumni  Meeting  on  Tuesday  Morning 

5  The  Dedication  Service  on  Tuesday  Afternoon 

6  The  Dinner  on  Tuesday  Evening. 


THE    EXERCISES    OF    DEDICATION 

The  Dedication  services  began  on  Sunday  morning,  Novem- 
ber 27,  at  eleven  o'clock,  when  a  large  congregation  assembled 
in  the  Chapel,  and  the  Dedication  sermon  was  preached  by  the 
Reverend  Professor  Henry  Sloane  Coffin,  D.D.  In  the  after- 
noon the  Communion  was  celebrated  at  four  o'clock,  the  Rev- 
erend Anson  P.  Atterbury,  D.D.,  and  the  Reverend  Professor 
Arthur  Cushman  McGiffert,  D.D.,  officiating. 

On  Monday  evening  at  eight  o'clock  a  meeting  was  held 
in  the  Chapel,  designed  specially  for  the  students  of  the  Semi- 
nary and  their  friends,  at  which  addresses  were  delivered  by 
the  Reverend  Professor  William  Adams  Brown,  Ph.D.,  D.D., 
and  President  Jacob  Gould  Schurman,  Sc.D.,  LL.D. 

On  Tuesday  morning  at  ten-thirty  o'clock  the  Alumni  gath- 
ered in  the  Chapel  for  the  anniversary  meeting  of  the  Alumni 
Association.  After  an  address  of  welcome  by  the  President 
of  the  Association,  the  Reverend  Henry  W.  Ballantine,  D.D., 
addresses  were  delivered  by  the  President  of  the  Seminary, 
the  Reverend  Francis  Brown,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  and  by  repre- 
sentative alumni — the  Reverend  Henry  Hamlin  Stebbins,  D.D., 
the  Reverend  William  Pierson  Merrill,  D.D.,  and  the  Rev- 
erend Howard  Sweetser  Bliss,  D.D.  At  the  conclusion  of  the 
service  the  alumni  and  invited  guests  adjourned  to  the  large 
Lecture  Room  A,  where  luncheon  had  been  provided  by  the 
Board  of  Directors. 

The  formal  service  of  Dedication  took  place  at  three  o'clock 
in  the  Chapel,  admission  being  by  ticket.  The  Presentation 
Address  was  made  by  Robert  Curtis  Ogden,  LL.D.,  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Board  of  Directors,  to  which  the  Reverend  Francis 
Brown,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  responded  in  behalf  of  the  Faculty.  The 
Dedication  Prayer  was  offered  by  the  Reverend  Charles  H. 
Parkhurst,  D.D.,  the  senior  member  of  the  Board.  The  Dedi- 
cation Address  was  then  delivered  by  the  Reverend  Charles 
Augustus  Briggs,  D.D.,  D.Litt.,  the  senior  member  of  the 
Faculty. 

In  the  evening  the  visiting  delegates  and  many  friends  and 

15 


16 

guests  of   the   Seminaiy  were  entertained  at   dinner  by  the 
Board  of  Directors  at  the  Waldorf  Astoria. 

During  Monday  and  Tuesday  the  buildings  were  open  for 
inspection,  and  were  visited  by  many  of  the  delegates  and 
friends  of  the  institution.  A  brief  account  of  the  dififerent 
services  follows : 

I.    The  Sunday  Morning  Service 

The  procession,  which  consisted  of  the  Choir,  the  Faculty 
and  the  officiating  persons,  formed  in  the  cloister  and  entered 
the  Chapel  during  the  organ  voluntary  played  by  Mr.  William 
P.  Dunn.  The  service  was  opened  by  the  recitation  of  the 
Lord's  Prayer,  led  by  President  Brown,  after  which  the  choir 
and  congregation  united  in  singing  Hymn  405,  "  Soon  May  The 
Last  Glad  Song  Arise."  Professor  George  Albert  Coe,  Ph.D., 
LL.D.,  then  read  the  Scripture  lesson,  Hebrews  xi:  i-io,  17- 
27'  39'  40;  xii:  1-2,  after  which  the  choir  sang  Chant  218, 
"  Benedic,  Anima  Mea."  The  congregation  then  joined  with 
President  Brown  in  the  Apostles'  Creed,  after  which  prayer 
was  offered  by  the  Reverend  Professor  Thomas  Cuming 
Hall,  D.D. 

^  The  usual  offering  for  the  Kingdom  of  God  was  then  re- 
ceived, after  which  the  Choir  sang  the  anthem,  "  Hymn  of 
Thanksgiving."  The  Dedication  sermon  was  preached  by  the 
Reverend  Henry  Sloane  Coffin,  D.D.,  from  the  text,  "  Thou 
hast  given  me  the  heritage  of  those  that  fear  thy  name  " 
(Psalm  Ixi:  5).  President  Brown  then  recited  the  collect  for 
All  Saints'  Day,  followed  by  the  benediction :  "  O  Almighty 
God,  who  hast  knit  together  thine  elect  in  one  communion 
and  fellowship,  in  the  mystical  body  of  thy  Son  Christ  our 
Lord;  grant  us  grace  so  to  follow  thy  blessed  Saints  in  all 
virtuous  and  godly  living,  that  we  may  come  to  those  un- 
speakable joys  which  thou  hast  prepared  for  those  who  un- 
feignedly  love  thee;  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 

"  The  peace  of  God,  which  passeth  all  understanding,  keep 
your  hearts  and  minds  in  the  knowledge  and  love  of  God,  and 
of  his  Son  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord;  and  the  blessing  of  God 
Almighty,  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  be  amongst 
you  and  remain  with  you  alway.    Amen." 

The  procession  retired  during  an  organ  postlude  by  Mr. 
Dunn. 


17 

1.    The  Communion  Service  on  Sunday  Afternoon 

The  Choir  and  the  officiating  persons  entered  the  Chapel 
during  the  organ  prelude  by  Dr.  Gerrit  Smith.  After  the 
Lord's  Prayer,  in  which  the  congregation  were  led  by  Presi- 
dent Brown,  the  Choir  sang  Chant  15,  "  Venite."  President 
Brown  then  read  the  Scripture  lesson,  John  vi:  22-51,  and 
the  congregation  joined  in  singing  Hymn  599,  "  Lead  us,  O 
Father,  in  the  paths  of  peace."  The  sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  was  then  observed,  Professor  McGiffert  conducting 
the  administration  of  the  bread  and  the  Reverend  Anson  P. 
Atterbury,  D.D.,  the  administration  of  the  cup.  After  the 
singing  by  the  congregation  of  Hymn  564,  "  Jesus  my  Lord, 
my  God,  my  All,"  President  Brown  offered  the  concluding 
prayer,  and  pronounced  the  benediction  as  follows :  "  Grant, 
we  beseech  thee,  O  merciful  Lord,  to  thy  faithful  people  par- 
don and  peace,  that  they  may  be  cleansed  from  all  their  sins 
and  serve  thee  with  a  quiet  mind,  through  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord. 

"  The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  the  love  of  God 
and  the  communion  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  be  with  us  all,  ever- 
more.   Amen." 

The  service  closed  with  an  organ  postlude  by  Dr.  Gerrit 
Smith. 

3.    The  Student  Meeting  on  Monday  Evening 

On  Monday  evening,  November  28,  at  8  o'clock,  the  pro- 
cession, which  consisted  of  the  Choir,  the  Faculty  and  the 
officiating  persons,  entered  the  Chapel  during  an  organ  pre- 
lude by  Dr.  Gerrit  Smith. 

President  Brown  then  led  the  audience  in  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  after  which  the  Choir  sang  Chant  No.  22,  "  Venite." 

The  Scripture  Lesson,  being  Psalm  cv,  was  read  by  the 
Reverend  Professor  George  William  Knox,  D.D.,  LL.D,,  after 
which  the  Choir  sang  the  anthem,  "  Hymn  of  Thanksgiving," 
Netherlands  Hymn. 

The  Reverend  Professor  William  Adams  Brown,  D.D., 
then  delivered  the  Historical  Address,  at  the  conclusion  of 
which  the  Choir,  joined  by  the  audience,  sang  Hymn  No.  100, 
"  All  People  That  On  Earth  Do  Dwell." 

President  Brown  then  introduced  President  Jacob  Gould 
Schurman,  Sc.D.,  LL.D.,  of  Cornell  University,  in  the  follow- 
ing words: 


18 

"  The  next  speaker  comes  to  us  from  a  busy  life  to  say 
a  word  which  he  has  deeply  at  heart.  The  subject  of  his 
address  is  to  be  '  Some  Elements  of  Religious  Progress.' 
I  have  great  pleasure  in  presenting  to  a  Union  Seminary 
audience,  President  Jacob  Gould  Schurman,  of  Cornell  Uni- 
versity." 

At  the  conclusion  of  President  Schurman's  address  the 
Choir  and  audience  joined  in  singing  Hymn  No,  352,  "  Lead 
On,  O  King  Eternal."  After  this  President  Brown  offered 
prayer  and  pronounced  the  benediction  as  follows : 

"  Almighty  God,  Father  of  all  mercies,  we,  thine  unworthy 
servants,  do  give  thee  most  humble  and  hearty  thanks  for 
all  thy  goodness  and  loving  kindness  to  us  and  to  all  men. 
We  bless  thee  for  our  creation,  preservation,  and  all  the  bless- 
ings of  this  life,  and  now  in  particular  for  thy  goodness  to 
this  Seminary  year  after  year,  and  for  all  its  benefactors, 
supporters,  teachers  and  friends;  but  above  all  for  Thine  in- 
estimable love  in  the  redemption  of  the  world  by  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  for  the  means  of  grace  and  for  the  hope  of 
glory,  and,  we  beseech  thee,  give  us  that  due  sense  of  all 
Thy  mercies  that  our  hearts  may  be  unfeignedly  thankful, 
and  that  we  may  show  forth  thy  praise  not  only  with  our  lips 
but  in  our  lives,  by  giving  up  ourselves  to  thy  service  and  by 
walking  before  thee  in  holiness  and  righteousness  all  our  days, 
through  Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord,  to  whom,  with  thee  and  the 
Holy  Ghost,  be  all  honour  and  glory,  world  without  end. 
Amen. 

"The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  love  of  God  and 
the  fellowship  of  the  Holy  Spirit  be  with  us  all,  evermore. 
Amen." 

The  procession  retired  during  an  organ  postlude  by  Dr. 
Gerrit  Smith. 

4.    The  Alumni  Meeting  on  Tuesday  Morning 

The  Alumni  of  the  Seminary  gathered  in  the  Chapel  on 
Tuesday  morning,  November  29,  at  half  past  ten  o'clock,  the 
Reverend  Henry  W.  Ballantine,  D.D.,  President  of  the  So- 
ciety of  the  Associated  Alumni,  presiding.  The  meeting  was 
opened  by  an  organ  prelude,  after  which  Dr.  Ballantine  of- 
fered the  following  Invocation: 

"  O  God,  our  Heavenly  Father,  whose  kingdom  is  everlast- 
ing, look  graciously,  we  entreat  thee,  upon  this  gathering  of 
thy  servants,  trained  for  the  ministry  of  thy  holy  Gospel  in 


19 

this  same  Christian  Seminary;  but  now  for  the  first  time 
finding  ourselves  in  these  spacious  halls,  which  thou  hast 
newly  provided  for  us.  We  are  filled  with  wonder  and  joy 
and  hope,  and  yet  we  fear  also. 

"  Unto  thee,  therefore,  we  look,  the  Protector  of  all  who 
trust,  without  whom  nothing  is  strong,  nothing  is  holy.  In- 
crease and  multiply  upon  us  thy  mercy,  that,  thou  being  our 
Ruler  and  Guide,  we  may  so  do  our  parts,  both  here  in  this 
place  at  this  time  and  always  hereafter  in  our  sacred  ministry, 
as  to  promote  more  and  more  effectually  thy  righteous  king- 
dom, and  so  pass  through  things  temporal  that  we  finally  lose 
not  the  things  eternal. 

"  Grant  this,  O  Heavenly  Father,  for  the  sake  of  Jesus 
Christ,  our  Lord.     Amen." 

The  Choir  and  audience  then  joined  in  singing  Hymn  No. 
304,  "  The  Church's  One  Foundation." 

The  Scripture  Lesson,  Psalm  No.  cxxii,  was  read  by  the 
Reverend  Charles  Ripley  Gillett,  D.D.,  the  Secretary  of  the 
Associated  Alumni. 

The  Reverend  Joseph  Dunn  Burrell,  D.D.,  then  oflfered  the 
following  prayer: 

"  O  God,  our  Heavenly  Father,  on  this  auspicious  day  we 
raise  our  hearts  to  Thee  in  thanksgiving  and  praise  and  as 
those  who  are  the  children  of  this  institution  especially  we 
are  grateful  to  Thee  for  what  we  see  and  know,  and  we  bless 
Thee  for  what  Thou  didst  for  us  through  this  Alma  Mater, 
that  Thou  didst  give  us  here  that  equipment  which  has  en- 
abled us  to  do  something  for  Thee  in  the  world,  in  the  minis- 
try of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  We  are  humbly  grateful 
to  Thee  for  that. 

"  And  we  look  back  over  the  years  that  are  gone  and  think 
of  the  great  number  of  those  who  went  out  from  this  school 
of  learning,  went  out  into  the  world  and  bore  its  burdens  and 
did  its  work,  and  gave  their  hearts  and  lives  to  Thee,  and 
have  entered  into  eternal  rest.  We  rejoice  in  that  noble 
record.  We  pray  that  Thou  wilt  help  us  in  our  day  and 
generation  to  be  worthy  of  it. 

"And  we  rejoice  as  we  lift  up  our  eyes  and  look  into  the 
future  and  see  the  great  number  who  shall  go  out  from  these 
walls  in  the  spirit  of  consecration  to  Thee  to  work  in  the 
world,  and  to  make  the  world  better  by  their  presence  in  it, 
in  the  Spirit  of  Jesus  Christ. 

"  O  God,  for  all  these  things  our  hearts  are  grateful  to 
Thee. 


20 

"  Bless  us  now  while  we  are  here,  this  hour.  Bless  those 
who  shall  speak  to  us.  May  we  gain  something  afresh  of 
the  spirit  of  this  sacred  place.  May  we  gain  anew  the  con- 
secration of  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour,  and  of  Thee  our  loving 
God  and  Father.  May  we  go  away  with  our  hearts  burning 
within  us  with  gratitude  and  love. 

"  These  things  we  ask  through  Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord. 
Amen." 

The  Address  of  Welcome  was  given  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Bal- 
lantine,  who  spoke  as  follows: 

"  Fellow  Alumni  : 

"  As  I  happen  to  be,  by  your  favor,  your  presiding  officer 
for  the  current  year,  there  has  come  to  me,  among  other 
pleasant  incidents,  to  be  chosen  by  the  Directors  and  Faculty 
of  the  Seminary,  to  convey  to  you  in  their  name  a  welcome 
to  these  new  halls  of  study.  In  spaciousness  and  all  manner 
of  equipment  they  greatly  surpass  any  we  have  hitherto  known 
our  loved  Seminary  to  possess.  They  probably  surpass  the 
expectations  of  us  all,  either  singly  or  together.  It  is  prob- 
able they  surpass  the  fondest  dreams  of  most  of  us,  even  for 
our  Seminary's  distant  future. 

"  Witnessing,  as  we  have  in  recent  years,  the  steady  and 
even  rapid  enlargement  and  enrichment  of  the  Seminary,  some 
of  the  older  graduates  of  us  become  almost  bewildered.  It 
is  not  our  achievement.  We  of  the  Alumni  have  rarely 
been  situated  so  as  to  lend  even  appreciable  help.  Under 
God  these  great  enlargements  are  the  work  of  the  Directors 
and  the  Faculty,  who  have  both  devised  and  accomplished 
them. 

"  Let  us  not  fail,  therefore,  on  this  day  of  dedication  and 
henceforth,  to  give  to  them,  the  Directors  and  the  Faculty, 
our  hearty  appreciation  and  their  worthy  meed  of  honor. 
And  let  us  also  thankfully  embrace  the  opportunities  afforded 
us  from  time  to  time  to  come  in  here  and  witness  the  Lord's 
work  by  these  his  servants. 

"  All  our  hearts  are  full  to-day.  Every  one  of  us  doubtless 
would  like  to  give  expression  to  some  at  least  of  the  thoughts 
and  feelings  now  welling  up  in  our  souls.  But  the  limit  of 
time  forbids,  all  the  time  that  is  available  being  required  for 
those  who  have  been  especially  invited  to  address  us. 

"  We  will  first  hear  a  brief  statement  regarding  the  Cuth- 
bert  Hall  Memorial  Library  Fund,  from  Professor  William 
Adams  Brown,  to  whom  I  now  give  way." 


21 

Professor  Brown  then  made  the  following  statement: 

"  Mr.  President  and  Fellow  Alumni  : 

"  It  is  with  great  pleasure  that  I  stand  here  to  make  report 
on  behalf  of  your  Librai-y  Endowment  Fund  Committee,  the 
stewardship  of  which  you  have  entrusted  to  our  care. 

"  Two  separate  tasks  were  committed  to  us :  First,  the 
raising  of  a  general  library  fund,  the  income  of  which  should 
be  used  for  the  purchase  of  books,  and  secondly,  and  more  in 
particular,  a  special  memorial  fund  to  bear  the  name  of  our 
beloved  President,  Charles  Cuthbert  Hall,  the  income  of 
which  was  to  be  used  for  the  purchase  of  books  on  Chris- 
tian Missions. 

"  I  have  before  me  the  latest  statement  of  the  treasurer  of 
the  fund.  He  tells  me  that  the  general  endowment  fund  con- 
sists up  to  date  of  $9,423.53,  to  which  should  be  added  in 
pledges  $1,205. 

"  The  Charles  Cuthbert  Hall  Memorial  Fund,  I  am  glad  to 
be  able  to  announce  to-day,  is  complete.  This  gratifying  an- 
nouncement is  made  possible  through  the  generosity  of  an  in- 
dividual, himself  a  large  donor  to  the  fund,  who  had  offered 
to  guarantee  the  three  hundred  and  odd  dollars  which  are 
still  lacking  of  the  five  thousand  which  we  planned  to  raise. 

"  You  will  not  misunderstand  me,  I  am  sure,  if  I  say  that 
those  Alumni  in  whose  heart  it  may  lie  to  have  some  part  in 
the  completion  of  this  work  of  love,  have  still  a  chance  to 
assume  to  themselves  any  part  of  that  remaining  guarantee 
which  they  may  desire,  by  communicating  with  Professor 
Rockwell,  the  Librarian,  or  with  Dr.  George  S.  Webster,  the 
Secretary  of  the  Fund. 

"  It  may  be  interesting  to  know  some  of  the  facts  connected 
with  this  Memorial  Fund,  which  has  been  contributed  by  one 
hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred  donors,  who  have  sent  in 
amounts  ranging  from  five  hundred  dollars  to  twenty-five 
cents.  Any  amount,  however  small,  which  you  may  desire  to 
give  in  loving  remembrance  of  Dr.  Hall  will  be  gratefully  re- 
ceived by  the  Committee. 

"  If,  to  the  contributions  to  the  general  fund,  we  add  the 
pledges  outstanding,  the  Charles  Cuthbert  Hall  Memorial 
Fund,  and  one  further  generous  gift  by  Mrs.  R.  Hall  Mc- 
Cormick,  secured  through  one  of  our  Alumni,  of  five  thousand 
dollars  for  the  Henry  Day  Memorial  Fund  for  the  further 
care  and  completion  of  the  Bird  Hymnological  Librar)%  which 
was  Mr.  Day's  gift,  it  will  appear  that  the  net  result  of  the 
effort  made  two  years  ago,  has  been  to  increase  the  funds 


22 

of  our  Library  by  over  twenty  thousand  dollars,  and  I  am 
sure  you  will  hear  this  with  gratification." 

Dr.  Ballantine  then  introduced  the  President  of  the 
Faculty,  who  delivered  an  address  on  "  The  Seminary's  New 
Era." 

At  the  conclusion  of  President  Brown's  address,  Dr.  Bal- 
lantine introduced  the  Reverend  Henry  Hamlin  Stebbins, 
D.D.,  of  the  Class  of  1867,  who  spoke  on  "  The  Claims  of  the 
Kingdom  upon  the  Seminary." 

Addresses  followed  by  the  Reverend  William  Pierson 
Merrill,  D.D.,  of  the  Class  of  1890,  who  spoke  on  "  Our 
Gospel " ;  and  the  Reverend  President  Howard  Sweetser 
Bliss,  D.D.,  of  the  Syrian  Protestant  College  at  Beirtit,  whose 
subject  was  "  The  Christian  Missionary  and  His  Message  in 
the  Twentieth  Century." 

After  the  addresses  were  concluded,  the  Reverend  Dr. 
Gillett,  the  Secretary  of  the  Association,  made  the  following 
announcements : 

"  I  wish  to  call  your  attention  to  the  announcement  on  the 
general  program  to  the  effect  that  there  will  be  an  informal 
luncheon  at  one  o'clock  to  the  Alumni  and  guests,  which  will 
be  served  in  Room  A,  up  one  flight  of  stairs  in  the  Adminis- 
tration Building. 

"  The  interval  until  one  o'clock  is  only  about  a  quarter  of 
an  hour,  but  I  think  that  we  shall  perhaps  best  spend  it  by 
remaining  here  in  this  room,  rather  than  by  making  a  very 
partial  inspection  of  the  buildings,  though  those  who  desire  so 
to  do  have  that  opportunity. 

"  I  hold  in  my  hands  four  pamphlets,  samples  of  those 
which  have  been  placed  in  the  vestibule  on  the  table,  and  also 
in  the  entrance  to  the  Memorial  Tower.  Those  pamphlets 
consist  of:  (i)  the  Proceedings  at  the  Laying  of  the  Comer- 
stone  and  the  Inauguration  of  Dr.  Francis  Brown  as  President 
of  the  Seminary,  (2)  an  Address  by  the  Reverend  Charles 
Cuthbert  Hall  on  '  Spiritual  Expression  and  Theological  Sci- 
ence,' (3)  a  pamphlet  on  the  Seminary,  its  Spirit  and  Aims, 
containing  addresses  which  were  made  on  the  occasion  of  the 
Annual  Dinner  of  the  Alumni  Association  held  in  1907,  and 
finally  (4)  a  pamphlet  by  Dr.  Charles  Cuthbert  Hall  entitled, 
*  Notes  of  an  Address  before  the  Alumni  of  the  Union  Theo- 
logical Seminary,'  in  the  Adams  Chapel,  in  1903. 

"  At  the  conclusion  of  this  service  the  Choir  will  pass  out 
through  the  centre  aisle  and  the  rest  of  us,  being  all  Alumni, 
will  remain  in  this  room,  or  proceed  according  to  our  own 


23 

desire  at  one  o'clock  to  the  room  where  the  luncheon  will  be 
served." 

Professor  William  Adams  Brown  then  made  the  following 
announcement : 

"If  our  quarters  were  as  large  as  our  heart  we  could  wish 
that  every  single  alumnus  could  sleep  in  this  building  to-night. 
That  is  unfortunately  impossible.  There  are,  however,  still 
a  few  single  rooms  in  the  building  available  for  Alumni  who 
may  not  be  otherwise  provided  for,  and  as  far  as  they  go  they 
are  cordially  at  your  service.  If  you  will  kindly  communicate 
with  Dr.  McGiffert's  office  on  the  ground  floor,  he  will  see 
what  can  be  done. 

"  The  same  is  true  of  the  dinner  to-night.  Here  again  we 
wish  we  could  provide  for  everyone,  but  that  I  fear  has  not 
been  possible,  partly  because  we  could  not  anticipate  who 
would  be  here.  I  wish,  therefore,  to  say  that  we  have  a  num- 
ber of  tickets  in  the  gallery  which  will  be  available  for  those 
alumni  who  will  not  attend  the  dinner,  but  who  desire  to  hear 
the  speeches  which  will  be  deHvered.  For  these  tickets  also, 
will  you  kindly  communicate  with  Dr.  McGiffert  or  Professor 
Bewer.  The  seats  in  the  gallery  will  be  available  at  nine 
o'clock  this  evening  and  will  afford  an  excellent  opportunity  to 
hear  the  speeches. 

"  Finally  we  wish  everyone  could  be  accommodated  at  the 
dedication  services  this  afternoon,  but  because  of  the  fact  that 
a  large  number  of  delegates  are  coming  from  institutions  all 
over  the  world,  we  shall  have  to  deny  ourselves  the  pleasure 
of  including  everyone  of  you,  as  we  should  wish,  in  the  ser\'-ices 
this   afternoon." 

The  Choir  and  audience  then  sang  Hymn  No.  358,  "  Who 
is  On  the  Lord's  Side  ?  " 

Prayer  was  then  offered  and  the  benediction  pronounced 
by  President  Brown  as  follows: 

"  O  Lord,  who  hast  been  our  dwelling  place  in  all  genera- 
tions we  commit  ourselves  now  to  Thee,  asking  that  Thou 
wilt  guide  us  in  the  way  that  lieth  before  us,  and  that  we 
may  fear  nothing  so  much  as  to  lose  touch  with  Thee ;  that 
if  we  see  falsely  Thou  wilt  enable  us  to  see  aright;  that  if  we 
form  wrong  plans  Thou  wilt  give  us  thy  inspiration  that  ^ye 
may  change  them  to  true  plans ;  that  in  all  things  Thou  wilt 
be  with  us,  giving  us  Thy  grace  and  enabling  us  more  and 
more  to  learn  of  Thee  through  Jesus  Christ. 

"  Help  us,  we  beseech  Thee,  in  the  varied  work  of  our 
lives.     May  each  one  in  his  daily  round  of  service  have  Thy 


24 

presence  and  the  joy  of  it  and  Thy  benediction  and  the  success 
of  it,  and  may  we  all  together  lift  our  hearts  to  Thee  con- 
stantly in  a  union  of  praise  for  Thy  goodness  and  love  and 
serve  Thee  faithfully  and  obediently  unto  the  end. 

"  We  ask  it  for  the  sake  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.    Amen. 

"  The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  love  of  God 
and  the  fellowship  of  the  Holy  Spirit  be  with  us  all,  ever- 
more.   Amen." 

The  meeting  closed  with  an  organ  postlude. 

5.    The  Dedication  Service 

The  formal  service  of  Dedication  was  held  in  the  Chapel 
of  the  Seminary  at  three  o'clock  on  Tuesday  afternoon, 
November  29. 

The  procession  formed  in  the  Administration  Building, 
passed  through  the  central  door  to  the  terrace  which  connects 
the  Library  and  the  Chapel,  descended  the  steps  to  the  in- 
terior court  and,  moving  along  the  brick  walk  which  bounds 
the  quadrangle,  entered  the  Chapel  in  the  following  order : 

The  Choir, 

The  Directors  and  Faculty  of  the  Seminary, 
The  Representatives  of  other  Institutions, 
The  Officiating  Persons. 

While  the  procession  was  forming,  the  Adagio  from  Guil- 
mant's  fifth  sonata  was  played  as  an  organ  voluntary  by  Dr. 
Gerrit  Smith,  the  Musical  Director  of  the  Seminary.  The 
service  opened  with  Hymn  No.  139,  "  All  Hail  the  Power  of 
Jesus'  Name,"  which  was  sung  by  the  Choir  as  a  processional. 

The  Reverend  Francis  Brown,  D.D.,  President  of  the  Fac- 
ulty, then  led  in  the  recital  of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  after  which 
the  Choir  sang  the  anthem,  "  Except  the  Lord  Build  the 
Plouse,"  by  Gilchrist.  The  Reverend  Joseph  Dunn  Burrell, 
D.D.,  then  read  the  following  Scripture  lesson : 

"  Wherefore  girding  up  the  loins  of  your  mind,  be  sober 
and  set  your  hope  perfectly  on  the  grace  that  is  to  be  brought 
unto  you  at  the  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ ;  as  children  of  obedi- 
ence, not  fashioning  yourselves  according  to  your  former  lusts 
in  the  time  of  your  ignorance :  but  like  as  he  who  called  you  is 
holy,  be  ye  yourselves  also  holy  in  all  manner  of  living;  be- 
cause it  is  written.  Ye  shall  be  holy;  for  I  am  holy.  And  if 
ye  call  on  him  as  Father,  who  without  respect  of  persons 
judgeth  according  to  each  man's  work,  pass  the  time  of  your 


25 

sojourning  in  fear,  knowing  that  ye  were  redeemed,  not  with 
corruptible  things,  with  silver  or  gold,  from  your  vain  man- 
ner of  life  handed  down  from  your  fathers ;  but  with  precious 
blood,  as  of  a  lamb  without  blemish  and  without  spot,  even 
the  blood  of  Christ:  who  was  foreknown  indeed  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world,  but  was  manifested  at  the  end  of  the 
times  for  your  sake,  who  through  him  are  believers  in  God, 
who  raised  him  from  the  dead,  and  gave  him  glory;  so  that 
your  faith  and  hope  might  be  in  God.  Seeing  ye  have  purified 
your  souls  in  your  obedience  to  the  truth  unto  unfeigned  love 
of  the  brethren,  love  one  another  from  the  heart  fervently: 
having  been  begotten  again,  not  of  corruptible  seed  but  of  in- 
corruptible, through  the  word  of  God,  which  liveth  and  abid- 
eth.  For 

"  All  flesh  is  as  grass, 
And  all  the  glory  thereof  as  the  flower  of  grass, 

The  grass  withereth  and  the  flower  f alleth : 
But  the  word  of  the  Lord  abideth  forever. 
And  this  is  the  word  of  good  tidings  which  was  preached  unto 
you. 

"  Putting  away  therefore  all  wickedness,  and  all  guile,  and 
hypocrisies,  and  envies,  and  all  evil  speakings,  as  new-bom 
babes  long  for  the  spiritual  milk  which  is  without  guile,  that 
ye  may  grow  thereby  unto  salvation;  if  ye  have  tasted  that 
the  Lord  is  gracious :  uniro  whom  coming,  a  living  stone,  re- 
jected indeed  of  men,  but  with  God  elect,  precious,  ye  also, 
as  living  stones,  are  built  up  a  spiritual  house,  to  be  a  holy 
priesthood,  to  offer  up  spiritual  sacrifices,  acceptable  to  God 
through  Jesus  Christ.  Because  it  is  contained  in  the  scripture, 
"  Behold,  I  lay  in  Zion  a  chief  corner-stone,  elect,  precious : 
And  he  that  believeth  on  him  shall  not  be  put  to  shame." 

(I.  Peter  i:  13;  ii:  6.) 

He  added :  "  May  God  bless  the  reading  of  His  Holy 
Word !  " 

The  Choir  then  sang  the  Chant,  No.  212,  "  Benedic  Anima 
Mea." 

The  President  of  the  Board  of  Directors,  Robert  Curtis 
Ogden,  LL.D.,  made  the  address  of  Presentation,  to  which 
the  President  of  the  Faculty,  the  Reverend  Francis  Brown, 
D.D.,  made  appropriate  response. 

The  Dedicatory  prayer  was  then  oflfered  by  the  Reverend 
Charles  H.  Parkhurst,  D.D.,  the  senior  member  of  the  Board, 
as  follows: 


26 

"  Thou  divine  Christ,  Thou  kindly  Master,  in  whose  pres- 
ence we  are  gathered  and  under  Whom  we  are  seeking  to 
serve,  endue  us  with  that  appreciation  of  mind  and  spirit  that 
shall  qualify  us  to  take  the  measure  of  this  present  occasion 
in  all  the  variety  of  its  sweet  and  solemn  import,  in  its  rela- 
tion to  the  times  past  that  have  led  up  to  this  interesting  but 
serious  moment,  in  its  relation  to  present  obligation  and  op- 
portunity, in  its  relation  to  the  times  forward  to  which  we  are 
looking  and  to  which  this  institution  is  privileged  and  bound 
to  bequeath  in  enlarged  abundance  its  present  possessions  of 
strength,  wisdom  and  grace. 

"  While  confessing  the  earnestness  with  which  our  hearts 
are  enlisted  in  this  service  of  dedication,  we  are  assured,  O 
God,  of  Thine  own  divine  interest  in  it,  that  Thy  thought  is 
engaged  in  it,  that  Thine  eye,  which  is  sensitive  to  whatever 
is  fit  and  beautiful,  rests  with  satisfaction  upon  that  which 
has  here  been  planned  and  constructed  in  Thy  name,  planned 
and  constructed  in  attestation  of  our  faith  in  Thee,  in  further- 
ance of  Thy  cause,  in  advancement  of  the  interests  of  Thy 
kingdom. 

"  Thy  guiding  hand  has  been  in  all  the  history  of  this 
Seminary.  In  its  bright  days  Thou  hast  gone  before  it  as 
a  pillar  of  cloud;  in  dark,  difficult  and  troubled  days.  Thou 
hast  led  the  way  as  a  pillar  of  fire.  In  all  our  wanderings 
Thou  hast  kept  us  in  Thy  sight  and  we  have  ever  striven 
to  keep  our  faces  toward  Thee. 

"  Thou  hast  counselled  this  institution  through  the  wisdom 
of  men  of  large  faith  and  of  devout  and  loyal  intention. 
Its  foundations  didst  Thou  lay  in  the  intelligence  and  piety  of 
men  who  could  see  with  a  long  and  wide  vision  and  a  pure 
heart,  and  as  we  revert  to  the  years  that  are  past,  we  bless 
Thee,  dear  Father,  for  the  wealth  of  this  Seminary's  history 
and  for  all  the  power  and  impulse  which  survives  as  a  sustain- 
ing and  moving  energy  from  those  who  have  been  the  found- 
ers of  that  history  and  those  who  have  been  the  shapers  of 
its  purposes  and  efforts. 

"  We  gratefully  remember  this  afternoon  that  from  the  first 
the  prayerful  aim  has  been  to  maintain  here  Christian  doctrine 
that  has  been  in  simple  line  with  Thine  own  revealed  thought, 
doctrine  that  is  faithful  to  that  thought,  both  as  narrow  and 
as  broad  as  that  thought  and  as  tender.  We  appreciate  the 
heritage  thus  bequeathed  to  us,  and  now  our  prayer  is  that 
by  Thy  grace  we,  who  are  the  heirs  of  the  past,  may  be  strong 
to  stand  erect  and  to  walk  unfalteringly  under  the  blessed 
burden  of  that  heritage. 


27 

"  May  Thy  Spirit  be  the  dominating  influence  in  these  halls, 
may  this  Seminary  be  spared  the  feebleness  and  the  dishonour 
of  becoming  a  scholastic  institution,  may  the  intelligence  of 
those  who  teach  and  study  here  be  of  the  clearest  and  finest, 
but  intelligence  held  under  the  strictest  control  by  a  Christian 
devotement,  with  learning  treated  not  as  an  end.  but  as  a 
means,  with  a  constantly  cherished  consciousness  of  its  rela- 
tion to  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ :  and  these 
grounds,  these  buildings  and  all  this  splendid  equipment  made 
possible  by  the  sanctified  wisdom  and  genius  of  some  who  are 
living  and  of  those  who  are  gone,  be  cherished,  all  of  it,  as  a 
holy  temple  dedicated  to  Thy  service,  O  God,  an  instrument 
of  Thy  Church  appointed  for  the  salvation  of  the  world. 

"  Continue  to  enrich  with  practical  wisdom  those  who  are 
charged  with  the  responsibility  of  studying  the  material  in- 
terests and  administering  the  government  of  this  institution. 
Endue  with  heavenly  wisdom  and  prophetic  vision  those  who 
are  appointed  to  the  service  of  instruction.  May  those  who 
as  students  avail  of  the  rich  opportunities  here  offered  enter 
these  halls  as  disciples  and  emerge  from  them  as  young 
apostles  full  of  divine  light,  power  and  purpose,  men  certified 
for  the  profound  in  their  experience  of  the  saving  power  of 
Christ  and  with  all  their  hearts  aglow  with  the  Gospel  mes- 
sage. 

"  And  all  this  rich  legacy  of  privilege  and  power  into  which 
as  trustees  and  students  we  are  now  entered,  all  this  superb 
dowry  we  do  to-day  with  reverent  and  loving  hearts  dedicate 
to  Thee,  O  God,  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Spirit,  praying  Thee 
to  hallow  it  all  by  Thy  consecrating  spirit  that  so  it  may  be 
not  only  humanly  fitted  but  sanctified  to  the  work  of  publish- 
ing to  the  world  the  redemption  wrought  out  by  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord.    Amen." 

Dr.  Ogden  then  introduced  the  senior  Professor,  the  Rev- 
erend Charles  Augustus  Briggs,  D.D.,  D.Litt.,  who  delivered 
the  Dedication  Address,  at  the  conclusion  of  which  the  Choir 
and  Congregation  sang  Hymn  No.  ii6,  "Our  God,  Our  Help 
in  Ages  Past."  President  Brown  then  offered  prayer  and 
pronounced  the  benediction  as  follows : 

"  Most  glorious  God ;  Accept  through  Thy  beloved  son 
Jesus  Christ,  our  thanksgivings  for  Thine  unspeakable  love 
and  goodness.  Thou  art  the  Father  of  mercies  and  God  of 
all  consolation,  full  of  compassion,  forgiving  iniquity,  trans- 
gression and  sin.  We  thank  Thee  that  thou  hast  founded  Thy 
Church  upon  the  Apostles  and  Prophets,  Jesus  Christ  him- 


28 

self  being  the  chief  cornerstone.  We  thank  Thee  that  Thou 
hast  committed  to  Thy  ministers  the  word  of  reconciliation. 
Continue  Thy  loving  kindness  unto  us  that  we  may  rejoice 
and  be  glad  in  Thee  all  our  days.  Guide  us  by  Thy  counsel 
and  afterward  receive  us  to  Thy  glory;  where  with  all  the 
blessed  host  of  heaven  we  may  behold,  adore,  and  perfectly 
and  joyfully  praise  Thee,  our  most  glorious  Creator,  Re- 
deemer and  Sanctifier,  forever  and  ever,  through  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord.    Amen. 

"  The  peace  of  God,  which  passeth  all  understanding,  keep 
your  hearts  and  minds  in  the  knowledge  and  love  of  God,  and 
of  his  Son,  Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord,  and  the  blessing  of  God 
Almighty,  the  Father,  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost  be  amongst 
you  and  remain  with  you  always.    Amen." 

Then  followed  the  Recessional,  the  Choir  and  Congrega- 
tion singing  Hymn  No.  298,  "  Glorious  Things  of  Thee  are 
Spoken." 

The  services  closed  with  an  organ  postlude,  by  Dr.  Gerrit 
Smith,  Lemmens'  "  Pontifical  March." 

6.    The  Dinner  at  the  Waldorf-Astoria 

The  official  delegates  and  a  large  number  of  the  friends  of 
the  Seminary  were  entertained  at  dinner  by  the  Board  of  Di- 
rectors at  the  Waldorf-Astoria  on  Tuesday  evening,  Novem- 
ber 29,  at  seven-thirty  o'clock. 

Tables  were  spread  for  five  hundred  and  fifty  guests,  while 
the  boxes  in  the  gallery  were  occupied  by  many  ladies  and 
gentlemen,  including  a  number  of  students  of  the  Seminary. 

The  guests  assembled  in  the  large  reception  room  on  the 
Thirty-fourth  Street  side  of  the  building  and  proceeded  to  the 
banqueting  room,  each  of  the  guests  at  the  speakers'  table  be- 
ing escorted  to  his  place  by  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Di- 
rectors or  of  the  Faculty. 

The  seating  at  the  guests'  table  was  as  follows,  begin- 
ning from  the  right: 

*The  Rev.  Dean  Wilford  L.  Robbins,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  General 

Theological  Seminary. 
*The  Rev.  Edward  B.  Coe,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  representing  Robert 

College,  Constantinople. 
*The  Rev.  Charles  H.  Parkhurst,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Director  of 

Union  Theological  Seminary. 

*  Unavoidably  absent. 


29 

*The  Rev.  Amory  H.  Bradford,  D.D.,  representing  Mansfield 
College,  Oxford,  Eng. 

The  Rev.  G.  A.  Johnston  Ross,  M.A.,  representing  West- 
minster College,  Cambridge,  Eng. 

The  Rev.  President  James  D.  Moffat,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Wash- 
ington and  Jefferson  College. 

The  Hon.  John  Wanamaker. 

Jacob  H.  Schiff,  Esq. 

The  Hon.  St.  Clair  McKelway,  LL.D.,  L.H.D.,  Vice-Chan- 
cellor.  University  of  the  State  of  New  York. 

Acting  Chancellor  John  H.  MacCracken,  Ph.D.,  LL.D., 
New  York  University. 

The  Rev.  President  William  H.  P.  Faunce,  D.D.,  LL.D., 
Brown  University. 

The  Rev.  President  James  G.  K.  McClure,  D.D.,  LL.D., 
McCormick  Theological  Seminary. 

The  Rev.  Professor  Edward  C.  AIoore,  Ph.D.,  D.D.,  Har- 
vard University. 

The  Right  Rev.  David  H.  Greer,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  representing 
Columbia  University. 

President     Nicholas     I\Iurray     Butler,     Ph.D.,     LL.D., 
D.LiTT.,  Columbia  University. 

President  Robert  C.  Ogden,  LL.D.,  L.H.D.,  Union  Theo- 
logical Seminary. 

The  Rev.  President  Francis  Brown,  Ph.D.,  D.D.,  LL.D., 
D.LiTT.,  Union  Theological  Seminary. 

The  Rev.  George  Alexander,  D.D.,  Moderator  of  the  Pres- 
bytery of  New  York. 
*The  Rev.  Professor  Henry  van  Dyke,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Prince- 
ton University. 

The  Right  Rev.  William  Lawrence,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  repre- 
senting Durham  University,  Eng. 

The  Rev.  Professor  George  William  Knox,  D.D.,  LL.D., 
Union  Theological  Seminary. 

J.  PiERPONT  Morgan,  LL.D. 

The  Hon.  Seth  Low,  LL.D.,  Director  of  Union  Theological 
Seminary. 

The  Rev.  President  Howard  S.  Bliss,  D.D.,  Syrian  Protest- 
ant College,  Beirut. 

The  Rev.  Dean  Edward  L.  Curtis,  Ph.D.,  D.D.,  Yale  Uni- 
versity. 

President  Jacob  Gould  Schurman,  Sc.D.,  LL.D.,  Cornell 
University. 

Unavoidably  absent. 


30 

The  Rev.  President  Robert  W.  Falconer,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Uni- 
versity of  Toronto. 

Dean  James  E.  Russell,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.,  Teachers  College, 
Columbia  University. 

The  Rev.  Principal  Hollis  B.  Frissell,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Hamp- 
ton Institute. 

The  Rev.  Professor  John  Charles  Roper,  D.D.,  represent- 
ing Oxford  University. 

The  Rev.  Professor  Duncan  B.  Macdonald,  D.D.,  repre- 
senting Glasgow  University. 

The  other  guests  were  seated  at  small  tables  which  were 
tastefully  decorated.  Souvenir  pamphlets  containing  pictures 
and  a  description  of  the  new  buildings  were  furnished  to  each 
of  the  guests.  Grace  was  said  by  the  Reverend  James  D. 
Moffat,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  President  of  Washington  and  Jefferson 
College.  At  a  quarter  past  nine  promptly  the  meeting  was 
called  to  order  by  the  presiding  officer.  Dr.  Robert  Curtis  Og- 
den,  who  welcomed  the  delegates  and  guests  present  in  fitting 
words,  and  read  a  letter  from  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  the  Honorable  William  H.  Taft,  LL.D.,  in  which  he 
expressed  regret  at  his  inability  to  be  present. 

Dr.  Ogden  then  introduced  the  speakers  of  the  evening, 
who  responded  to  the  following  toasts : 

President  Nicholas  Murray  Butler,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.  Our 
Neighbors. 

The  Right  Reverend  David  H.  Greer,  D.D.,  LL.D.    The  City. 

The  Reverend  George  Alexander,  D.D.    The  World. 

The  Rev.  Professor  Edward  C.  Moore,  D.D.    The  University. 

The  Right  Reverend  William  Lawrence,  D.D.,  LL.D.  Our 
Friends  across  the  Sea. 

The  Rev.  Professor  George  William  Knox,  D.D.,  LL.D. 
The  Seminary. 

The  Rev.  President  James  G.  K.  McClure,  D.D.  Sister  Sem- 
inaries. 

The  Rev.  President  William  H.  P.  Faunce,  D.D.,  LL.D., 
The  Spirit  of  Service. 

The  Rev.  President  Francis  Brown,  D.D.,  LL.D.  Retrospect 
and  Prospect. 

The  speaking  concluded  promptly  at  eleven  o'clock,  and 
Dr.  Ogden  dismissed  the  audience  with  the  words :  "  Ladies 
and  Gentlemen,  good  night." 


Ill 

THE    INSTITUTIONS    REPRESENTED 


THE    INSTITUTIONS    REPRESENTED 

The  following  Institutions,  arranged  in  the  order  of  founda- 
tion, were  represented  by  the  Delegates  named: 

The  University  of  Oxford,  the  Rev.  Professor  J.  Charles 

Roper,  D.D. 
The  University  of  St.  Andrews,  Andrew  Carnegie,  LL.D. 
Glasgow  University,  the  Rev.  Professor  Duncan  B.  Mac- 

DONALD,  D.D. 

The  University  of  Marburg,  the  Rev.  Professor  W.  W. 

Rockwell,  Lic.Th.   (Marburg). 
Harvard  University,  the  Rev.  Professor  Edward  C.  Moore, 

Ph.D.,  D.D. 
Yale  University,  the  Rev.  Dean  Edward  L.  Curtis,  Ph.D., 

D.D.,  the  Rev.  James  W.  Cooper,  D.D. 
Yale    Divinity    School,    the   Rev.    Professor   Henry    H. 

Tweedy,  M.A. 
The  University  of  Pennsylvania,  the  Rev.  Professor  J.  A. 

Montgomery,  Ph.D.,  S.T.D. 
Columbia  University,  President  Nicholas  Murray  Butler, 

Ph.D.,  LL.D.,  Litt.D.,  the  Right  Rev.  David  H.  Greer, 

D.D.,  LL.D.,  Professor  John  W.  Burgess,  Ph.D.,  LL.D. 
Brown  University,  the  Rev.  President  W.  H.  P.  Faunce, 

D.D.,  LL.D. 
Dartmouth  College,  Charles  F.  Mathewson,  LL.B.,  A.M. 
Rutgers  College,  the  Rev.  Professor  George  H.  Payson, 

D.D. 
The  Theological  Seminary  of  the  Reformed  Church  in 

America,  the  Rev.  Professor  Edward  P.  Johnson,  D.D. 
The    University    of    Georgia,    George    Foster    Peabody, 

LL.D. 
Williams  College,  President  Harry  A.  Garfield,  LL.D. 
Bowdoin  College,  General  Thomas  H.  Hubbard,  LL.D. 
Union  University,  the  Rev.  President  Charles  A.  Rich- 
mond, D.D.,  LL.D. 
Middlebury  College,  the  Rev.  President  John  M.  Thomas, 

D.D. 

33 


34 

Washington  and  Jefferson  College,  the  Rev.  President 
James  D.  Moffat,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

Andover  Theological  Seminary,  the  Rev.  President  Al- 
bert Parker  Fitch,  D.D.,  the  Rev.  Charles  L.  Noyes, 
D.D. 

Moravian  College,  the  Rev.  President  Augustus  Schultze, 
D.D.,   L.H.D. 

Hamilton  College,  the  Rev.    Robert  G.  McGregor,  B.D. 

Bangor  Theological  Seminary,  the  Rev.  Professor  W.  J. 
Moulton,  Ph.D.,  D.D. 

The  General  Theological  Seminary,  the  Rev.  Professor 
Herbert  M.  Denslow,  D.D. 

The  University  of  Pittsburgh,  the  Rev.  Chancellor  S.  B. 
McCormick,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  the  Rev.  S.  B.  Linhart,  D.D. 

Auburn  Theological  Seminary,  the  Rev.  Professor 
Arthur  S.  Hoyt,  D.D. 

McGiLL  University,  Principal  William  Peterson,  LL.D., 
C.M.G. 

Trinity  College  (Hartford,  Conn.)  the  Rev.  Philip  Cook. 

Newton  Theological  Institution,  the  Rev.  President 
George  E.  Horr,  D.D. 

The  Theological  Seminary  of  the  Reformed  Church  in 
United  States,  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania,  the  Rev.  Presi- 
dent John  C.  Bowman,  D.D, 

Western  Theological  Seminary,  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania, 
the  Rev.  President  James  A.  Kelso,  Ph.D.,  D.D.,  the 
Rev.  Professor  D.  Schley  Schaff,  D.D. 

Western  Reserve  University,  the  Rev.  Professor  Arthur 
C.  McGiffert,  Ph.D.,  D.D. 

The  University  of  Toronto,  President  Robert  W.  Fal- 
coner, D.D.,  LL.D. 

Hanover  College,  the  Rev.  John  C.  Palmer,  D.D. 

Illinois  College,  the  Rev.  Thomas  W.  Smith,  D.D. 

New  York  University,  Professor  John  H.  MacCracken, 
Ph.D.,  LL.D,  Dean  D.  W.  Hering,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.,  Dean 
Francis  H.  Stoddard,  Ph.D. 

Wesleyan  University,  Professor  Andrew  C.  Armstrong, 
Ph.D. 

Lafayette  College,  Professor  William  B.  Owen,  Ph.D. 

Pennsylvania  College,  the  Rev.  James  B.  Remensnyder, 
D.D.,  LL.D. 

Haverford  College,  President  Isaac  Sharpless,  LL.D. 

The  University  of  Durham,  (England),  the  Right  Rev. 
William  Lawrence,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  D.C.L. 


35 

Hartford  Theological  Seminary,  the  Rev.  Professor  E. 
K.  Mitchell,  D.D. 

Wabash  College,  the  Rev.  Arthur  J.  Brown,  D.D. 

Alfred  University,  the  Rev.  Professor  William  C.  Whit- 
ford,  D.D. 

Mount  Holyoke  College,  President  Mary  E.  Woolley, 
D.Litt.,  Professor  Samuel  P.  Hayes,  Ph.D. 

The  University  of  Missouri,  Professor  Cassius  J.  Keyser, 
Ph.D. 

Ohio  Wesleyan  University,  Edward  J.  Wheeler,  M.A., 

LiTT.D, 

Meadville  Theological  School,  the  Rev.  President  F.  C. 

Southworth,  M.A.,  S.T.B. 
Westminster  College,   (Cambridge,  England),  the  Rev.  G. 

A.  Johnston  Ross,  M.A. 
Colgate  University,  the  Rev.  Dean  W.  H.  Allison,  Ph.D. 
Knox  College — Toronto,  the  Rev.   Principal  Alfred  Gan- 

dier,  D.D. 
Mount  Union  College,  President  W.  H.  McMaster.  D.D. 
Earlham  College,  the  Rev.  Robert  E.  Pretlow,  M.A. 
Lawrence  College,  the  Rev.  President  Bradford  P.  Ray- 
mond,  D.D.,   LL.D. 
The  College  of  the  City  of  New  York,  Professor  Fitz- 

Gerald  Tisdall,  Ph.D. 
Oberlin  College,  the  Rev.  C.  J.  Ryder,  D.D. 
Rochester  Theological  Seminary,  the  Rev.  President  A. 

H.  Strong,  D.D.,  LL.D. 
Northwestern  University,  Charles  Harvey  Fahs,  B.D., 

the    Rev.    George    Mooney,    A.B.,    the   Rev.    Thomas 

Nicholson,   D.D.,  LL.D. 
Victoria  University  of  Manchester,  England,  President 

Nicholas  Murr-\y  Butler,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.,  D.Litt. 
Trinity     College,     Durham,     North     Carolina,     Professor 

George  B.  Pegram,  Ph.D. 
Tufts  College,  the  Rev.  Fr.\nk  Oliver  Hall,  D.D. 
Berkeley  Divinity   School,  the  Rev.  Professor  William 

Palmer  Ladd,  B.D. 
Chicago  Theological  Seminary,  the  Rev.  President  Ozora 

S.  Davis,  D.D. 
Berea  College,  the  Rev.  President  William  G.  Frost,  D.D., 

LL.D. 
Hillsdale  College,  the  Rev.  Rivington  D.  Lord,  D.D. 
The   Protestant  Episcopal  Divinity  School  of  Phila- 
delphia, the  Rev.  Professor  Lucien  M.  Robinson,  D.D. 


36 

McCoRMiCK    Theological    Seminary,    the    Rev.    President 

James  G.  K.  McClure,  D.D.,  LL.D. 
Vassar   College,    the   Rev.    President   James    M.    Taylor, 

D.D.,   LL.D. 
The  University  of  Washington,  Professor  A.  H.  Yoder. 
The  Syrian  Protestant  College,  Beirut,  Syria,  the  Rev. 

President  Howard  S.  Bliss,  D.D. 
The  German  Presbyterian  Theological  School  of  the 

Northwest,  Dubuque,  Iowa,  the  Rev.  Professor  Daniel 

Grieder,  D.D. 
The  Lutheran  Theological  Seminary,  Mount  Airy,  Phila- 
delphia, the  Rev.  Luther  D.  Reed,  M.A. 
Robert  College  (Constantinople),  the  Rev.  Edward  B.  Coe, 

D.D. 
Swarthmore  College,  Vice-President  George  A.  Hoadley, 

LL.D. 
Cornell   University,   President  Jacob   Gould   Schurman, 

LL.D. 
Lehigh  University,  President  Henry  S.  Drinker,  LL.D., 

the  Right  Rev.  Ethelbert  Talbot,  D.D.,  LL.D. 
Carleton  College,  the  Rev.  Arcturus  Z.  Conrad,  Ph.D., 

D.D. 
Drew  Theological  Seminary,  the  Rev.  Professor  R.  W. 

Rogers,  Ph.D.,  D.D.,  LL.D. 
The  University  of  Wooster,  the  Rev.  Professor  Chalmers 

Martin,  D.D. 
Atlanta  University,  the  Rev.  President  Edward  Twitch- 
ell  Ware. 
Crozer  Theological  Seminary,  the  Rev.  Professor  Spenser 

B.  Mf.eser,  D.D. 
The   Episcopal   Theological   School    of   Cambridge,   the 

Very  Rev.  Dean  George  Hodges,  D.D.,  D.C.L. 
FisK  University,  the  Rev.  President  George  A.  Gates,  D.D., 

Professor  Warren  G.  Waterman,  M.A. 
Howard  University,  the  Rev.  President  Wilbur  P.  Thir- 

kield,  D.D.,  LL.D. 
Iowa  College,  Professor  George  M.  Whicher,  Litt.D. 
The  University  of  Illinois,  Edward  L.  Abbott,  B.S. 
Hampton  Normal  and  Agricultural  Institute,  the  Rev. 

Principal  Hollis  B.  Frissell,  D.D.,  LL.D. 
Boston  University,  the  Rev.  William  I.  Haven,  D.D. 
German  Theological  School  of  Newark,  New  Jersey,  the 

Rev.  Professor  Henry  J.  Weber,  Ph.D.,  D.D. 


37 

Ursinus  College,  the  Rev.  President  A.  Edwin  Keigwin, 

D.D. 
Drury  College,  the  Rev.  W.  L.  Schmalhorst. 
Colorado  College,  the  Rev.  President  William  F.  Slocum, 

D.D.,  LL.D. 
Purdue  University,  Daniel  Ralph  Lucas,  M.D. 
The  State  University  of  Iowa,  John  G.  Bowman,  M.A, 
DosHisHA   College,   the  Rev.   President   Tasuku   Harada, 

LL.D. 
Park  College,  the  Rev.  Cleland  B.  McAfee,  D.D. 
Smith  College,  Professor  Harry  N.  Gardiner,  M.A. 
Wellesley  College,  Professor  Alice  Van  Vechten  Brown. 
Johns  Hopkins  University,  the  Rev.  Dean  E.  H.  Griffin, 

D.D.,  LL.D. 
Waseda  University,  Professor  K.  Asakawa,  Ph.D. 
Huron   College,  the  Rev.  President  Calvin   H.   French, 

D.D. 
The  University  of  North  Dakota,  Maxwell  M.  Upson, 

B.A. 
Temple  University,  the  Rev.  Dean  Walter  B.  Shumway, 

D.D. 
Bryn  Mawr  College,  President  M.  Carey  Thomas,  LL.D. 
The  Memorial  Theological  Seminary,  Saharanpur,  India, 

the  Rev.  Professor  H.  C.  Delte,  M.A. 
Canton  Christian  College,  Mr.  W.  Henry  Grant. 
The  Jewish  Theological  Seminary  of  America,  Professor 

Israel  Friedlander,  Ph.D. 
Mansfield  College,  Oxford,  England,  the  Rev.  Amory  H. 

Bradford,  D.D. 
North  Japan  College,  Sendai,  Japan,  Professor  Teizaburo 

Demura,  M.A. 
Clark  University,  President  Edmund  C.  Sanford,  Ph.D., 

Sc.D. 
Teachers  College   (Columbia  University),  Dean  James  E. 

Russell,  Ph.D.,  LL.D. 
Pomona  College,  the  Rev.  Milton  Wittler,  B.D. 
Barnard  College,   Provost  William  T.   Brewster,  M.A., 

Silas  B.  Brownell,  LL.D. 
North  China  Union  College,  the  Rev.  Arthur  H.  Smith, 

D.D. 
Leland  Stanford  Jr.,  University,  Professor  R.  L.  Wilbur, 

M.A.,  M.D. 

MORNINGSIDE  COLLEGE,   FrED  J.   SeaVER,  Ph.D. 


38 

Allahabad  Christian  College,  Charles  D.  Thompson,  Jr. 
Central  Theological  Seminary,  the  Rev.  Professor  James 
I.  Good,  D.D. 

Courteous  messages  of  regret  came  from  other  institutions, 
some  of  which  sent  also  congratulatory  addresses,  which  were 
received  with  appreciation. 


IV 
THE    DEDICATION    SERMON 


THE    DEDICATION    SERMON 

By  the  Reverend  Henry  Sloane  Coffin,  D.D. 

Psalm  Ixi,  5. 

"  Thou  hast  given  me  the  heritage  of  those  that  fear  thy 

name." 

Our  first  thought,  as  we  set  apart  these  stately  and  grace- 
ful buildings  to  their  use  for  the  Kingdom  of  God,  is  natur- 
ally of  those  to  whose  large  faith  and  generous  thought  we 
owe  both  the  plan  for  the  enlargement  of  this  Seminary's 
work  and  the  means  for  its  accomplishment.  We  recall  with 
reverent  and  grateful  affection  the  late  President  of  the 
Faculty,  Charles  Cuthbert  Hall,  who  dreamt  dreams  of  the 
destiny  possible  to  this  institution  upon  this  commanding  site 
at  the  great  academic  center  of  the  metropolis  of  the  con- 
tinent; the  Christian  men  of  affairs  in  our  Board  of  Direc- 
tors, who  shared  his  vision  and  made  possible  its  achieve- 
ment upon  a  scale  surpassing  even  his  sanguine  hope,  such 
men  as  John  Crosby  Brown  and  Morris  K.  Jesup;  and  in 
particular  that  broad-minded,  truth-loving,  far-seeing  business 
man,  whose  memory  this  chapel  records,  D.  Willis  James, 
the  Greatheart  in  the  company  of  those  who  in  recent  years 
have  with  signal  wisdom,  assurance  and  devotion  guided  this 
school  of  sacred  learning.  Of  them  we  may  say  as  we  look 
about  upon  that  which  they  planned,  but  were  not  permitted 
to  see  completed,  "  These  all  died  in  faith,  not  having  received 
these  promises,  but  having  seen  them  and  greeted  them  from 
afar."  We  cannot  but  feel  that  they  commit  to  us  very 
wistfully  and  very  trustingly  this  heavy  responsibility,  the 
weight  of  which  they  appreciate,  because  they  carried  it  in 
anticipation.  And  we,  as  we  accept  it  from  God  so  directly 
through  them,  are  keenly  sensible  that  their  consecration  in 
planning  and  providing  has  already  given  its  solemn  dedica- 
tion to  that  which  we  are  now  setting  apart  to  its  intended 
use.  The  dedication  comes  with  the  gift  itself,  as  we  say 
gratefully,  "Thou  hast  given  us  the  heritage  of  those  that 
fear  thy  name." 

And  with  these  who  conceived  and  prepared   for  these 

41 


42 

impressive  buildings  we  would  couple  in  our  thankful  re- 
membrance the  illustrious  role  of  teachers,  who  in  the  past 
have  won  distinction  for  this  Seminary  by  their  scholarship, 
the  pastors  and  missionaries  who  have  gone  from  its  halls 
to  bring  honor  to  its  name  by  their  efficient  service  of  the 
Church  of  Christ,  and  the  ministers  and  laymen,  who  with 
singular  freedom  from  denominational  prejudice  and  un- 
trammeled  by  traditionalism,  with  faith  in  the  living  God, 
loyalty  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  seeking  to  be  as  inclusive  in  their 
sympathy  as  He,  have  shaped  its  policy,  supplied  its  endow- 
ments, directed  its  affairs  and  moulded  its  spirit.  It  has 
been  theirs  to  command  for  this  institution  that  trust  and  at- 
tachment manifestly  evidenced  in  this  incomparable  equipment 
for  its  work.  It  is  ours — and  how  weighty  the  obligation! — 
to  deserve  what  it  has  been  theirs  to  secure. 

We  are  dedicating  this  costly  plant  to  the  preparation  of 
preachers  and  teachers  of  religion.  Religion  comes  to  every 
man,  no  matter  how  independent  an  investigator  he  may  be 
in  his  fellowship  with  the  Invisible,  as  an  inheritance.  It 
is  significant  that  two  of  our  evangelists  in  presenting  the 
biography  of  the  world's  most  startling  religious  Innovator,  its 
most  original  and  self-reliant  Man  of  faith,  supply  us  with 
His  genealogy,  as  though  His  unique  convictions  were  inex- 
plicable and  unintelligible  apart  from  their  antecedents  in  a 
long  succession  of  believers.  This  Seminary  has  been  called 
in  the  providence  of  God  to  stand  for  the  right  and  the  duty 
of  each  generation  to  think  its  own  thought  of  the  Most  High. 
But  this  by  no  means  implies  our  want  of  reverence  for  those 
who  have  preceded  us  in  the  life  of  faith.  It  is  not  the  imi- 
tative followers  of  adventurous  leaders  who  are  in  closest 
sympathy  with  them,  but  the  pioneers  who  gratefully  acknowl- 
edge the  bounds  which  their  precursors  reached,  and  instead 
of  remaining  within  them  set  out  from  them  to  add  to  the 
territory  already  attained.  The  God  we  trust  has  been  man's 
old,  old  home.  There  can  be  nothing  strictly  new  in  our  in- 
tercourse with  Him.  Every  emotion  we  feel  in  His  presence, 
every  thought  of  Him  that  comes  to  our  minds,  every  word  we 
utter  of  praise  or  petition,  every  rite  we  perform  in  worship, 
every  task  to  which  we  set  ourselves  as  our  Father's  business, 
has  a  long  history  behind  it.  God,  even  with  His  unsearchable 
riches,  would  not  mean  so  much  to  us  were  it  not  that  into 
their  fellowship  with  Him,  as  into  their  permanent  home, 
centuries  of  believing  men  and  women  have  put  their  per- 
sonalities. 


43 

"  The  souls  of  many  thousand  years 
Have  laid  up  here  their  toils  and  fears 
And  all  the  agonies  of  their  pain." 

Religion,  no  doubt,  means  to  every  man  a  private  under- 
standing between  himself  and  God.  He  is  conscious  of  fol- 
lowing no  precedent  as  he  places  himself  in  tlie  everlasting 
arms.  He  is  not  aware  that  he  is  obeying  an  age-long  tradi- 
tion when  he  responds  to  the  voice  of  God  in  his  conscience. 
He  flies  to  Him  and  obeys  Him  spontaneously,  as  though  God 
and  he  had  been  made  for  each  other,  and  suddenly  he  recog- 
nized the  affinity.  But  when  he  comes  to  reflect  upon  his 
private  fellowship  with  the  Father  he  discovers  that  he  has 
entered  a  great  household  of  faith.  The  impulse  that  drove 
him  to  an  unseen  Friend  and  the  conscience  that  spoke  to  him 
with  commanding  authority  have  behind  them  a  far-stretch- 
ing heredity.  The  confession  of  his  weakness  and  failure  and 
sin  which  he  is  pouring  into  the  divine  ear  seems  an  echo  that 
comes  sounding  from  every  century  of  the  voices  of  the  con- 
trite in  heart.  His  aspiration  which  rises  towards  godlikeness 
in  temper  and  sympathy  and  usefulness  appears  as  the  out- 
breathing  through  him  of  the  souls  of  the  upreaching  of  every 
generation.  His  consecration  to  the  kingdom  of  love  is  an 
ancient  fire  that  has  blazed  in  the  spirits  of  untold  thousands 
since  time  began.  His  timid  knock  at  the  door  of  the  divine 
heart  for  companionship  has  admitted  him  to  a  thronged  pres- 
ence, where  men  out  of  every  kindred  and  tongue  and  era 
stand  before  God.  The  divine  voice  that  seemed  to  whisper 
its  confidential  secret  in  his  ear  now  sounds  as  the  voice  of 
many  waters,  a  great  harmony  of  all  the  heavenly  tones  that 
have  fallen  on  the  ears  of  men  from  the  beginning.  Paul  uses 
a  bold  but  true  phrase  when  he  speaks  of  "  the  riches  of  the 
glory  of  God's  inheritance  in  the  saints."  There  is  a  genuine 
sense  in  which  God  Himself  has  more  to  offer  us  because  of 
His  acquisitions  in  the  past  from  all  who  have  served  Him 
and  are  now  with  Him  abidingly.  Our  first  exclamation  when 
we  come  into  the  secret  place  of  the  Most  High  may  be,  "  O 
God,  Thou  art  my  God."  But  our  next  will  be :  "  Lord, 
Thou  hast  been  our  dwelling  place  in  all  generations."  "  Thou 
hast  given  me  the  heritage  of  those  that  fear  Thy  name." 

There  are  some  who  would  challenge  our  right  to  place 
this  theological  seminary  beside  institutions  where  sciences  like 
mathematics  and  chemistry  and  astronomy  are  studied.  The- 
ology is  not  to  them  a  science  because  it  does  not  deal  with 


44 

actual  fact.  There  is  no  reality  they  say  corresponding  to  the 
name  we  reverence.  Faith  in  God  is  an  hallucination  destined 
to  become  as  obsolete  as  the  belief  in  ghosts  and  witches.  Re- 
ligion should  be  studied  as  part  of  pathology  in  a  course  in 
a  medical  school  that  deals  with  nervous  disorders,  or  as  an 
historical  curiosity,  as  we  examine  the  superstitions  of  sav- 
ages. But  in  setting  this  school  of  theology  side  by  side  with 
these  other  scientific  institutions  we  claim  that  we  deal  with 
reality  as  truly  as  they.  "  We  know  Whom  we  have  be- 
lieved." The  invisible  God  is  as  genuine  a  fact  of  human 
experience  as  men  and  things,  although  we  apprehend  Him 
by  faith  and  not  by  sight.  Like  other  sciences,  theology  tests 
and  criticizes  its  conclusions,  and  grows  more  clear  and  pre- 
cise from  age  to  age.  Its  data  are  given,  as  are  all  other 
scientific  data,  through  the  experiences  of  men,  primarily  the 
experiences  of  the  living — for  we  are  in  touch  with  the  living 
God — but  also,  and  often  far  more  richly,  through  the  experi- 
ences of  the  religiously  gifted  of  the  past,  the  seers  of  all 
time.  It  is  the  discoveries  of  their  souls  in  God,  discoveries 
confirmed  by  similar  experiences  of  our  own,  which  give  us 
the  name  we  fear.  Ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  of  every 
race  and  condition  have  been  in  Christ  before  us,  and  these 
all  have  had  witness  borne  to  them  through  their  faith.  Their 
witness  is  evidence  which  we  are  not  afraid  to  submit  to  the 
most  rigorous  tests.  The  forms  in  which  they  bore  their  testi- 
mony may  be  open  to  correction  and  improvement,  but  the 
testimony  itself  is  unimpeachable.  "  They  looked  unto  Him 
and  were  radiant."  They  discovered,  as  it  were,  a  vast  new 
continent.  They  explored  and  chartered  Him  who  is  invisible. 
They  mined  unsearchable  riches  of  comfort  and  strength  in 
God.  They  reaped  harvests  of  peace  and  joy  from  fellow- 
ship with  Him.  They  have  been  enraptured  with  prospects  of 
surpassing  beauty  in  the  character  of  the  Altogether  Lovely. 
They  have  emigrated  to  Him  and  exchanged  the  ideals  and 
sympathies  and  interests  of  the  world  about  them  for  the 
mind  and  heart  and  purpose  of  God,  and  He  has  been  the 
home  of  their  spirits  while  they  moved  freely  in  the  life 
of  earth.  The  name  they  fear  is  the  interpretation  of  their 
experience,  their  description  of  what  God  has  been  to  them. 
And  that  name  they  pass  on  to  us  as  their  most  precious  be- 
quest. 

The  word  in  our  text  which  needs  most  emphasis  to-day  is 
the  word  "  name."  There  is  so  much  anonymous  religion 
among  us.    Men  devote  themselves  to  investigations  of  various 


45 

sets  of  facts,  to  the  invention  of  all  sorts  of  appliances,  to 
social  justice,  to  economic  readjustment,  to  political  reform, 
to  art,  to  crusades  against  disease  and  vice,  with  a  consecra- 
tion that  is  essentially  religious.  In  every  sphere  of  life  one 
finds  altars  to  an  unknown  God.  The  devotees  of  personal 
integrity  and  public  rightousness,  the  zealots  for  sympathy  and 
service  are  legion.  And  for  all  this  we  cannot  be  too  grateful. 
But  relatively  few  of  the  followers  of  truth  and  right,  beauty 
and  love,  are  aware  that  through  these  they  are  in  fellowship 
with  the  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  the  God  and  Father  of  us 
all.  We  should  impress  our  ancestors  as  extremely  undevout. 
They  might  call  us  irreligious.  And  in  part  they  would  be 
justified.  One  cannot  imagine  our  contemporaries  establish- 
ing  a  day  of  public  thanksgiving  to  God.  That  custom  re- 
mains with  us  as  a  survival  from  an  era  when  men  in  general 
took  God  far  more  seriously  than  do  we.  Ours  is  not  an  age 
of  public  or  family  or  personal  prayer.  Men  do  not  ask  them- 
selves how  they  stand  with  God.  Pure  religion  and  undefiled 
is,  for  us,  to  visit  the  fatherless  and  widows  in  their  affliction 
and  to  keep  oneself  unspotted  from  the  world,  but  we  forget 
that  James  wrote,  "  Pure  religion  and  undefiled  before  our 
God  and  Father."  We  insist  that  it  is  required  of  us  "  to  do 
justly  and  to  love  mercy,"  but  we  seldom  finish  the  sentence, 
"  to  walk  humbly  with  thy  God."  We  assent  to  the  saying 
that  whatever  we  do  to  the  least  of  Christ's  brethren  we  do  to 
Him,  but  we  are  not  often  conscious  of  direct  intercourse  be- 
tween ourselves  and  Him  in  the  service  of  men.  Our  sense 
of  social  responsibility  is  strong,  but  we  have  little  sense  of 
personal  accountability  to  God.  Not  many  men  give  us  the 
impression  of  being  intimate  with  the  Most  High,  "  far  ben," 
as  the  Scotch  say.  His  close  friends  and  companions. 

It  would  be  very  easy  and  pleasant,  although  certainly  not 
novel,  to  point  out  the  advances  we  have  made  upon  those  who 
bequeathed  us  their  convictions.  The  founders  of  this  insti- 
tution would  probably  admit  that  we  were  trying  to  apply 
Christianity  to  many  relationships  of  life  which  they  had  over- 
looked. The  attempt  seriously  to  embody  the  mind  of  Christ 
in  business  ethics,  in  international  afi'airs,  in  the  treatment  of 
the  criminal,  in  every  phase  of  our  complex  social  existence, 
commands  far  more  interest  than  in  their  day.  One  is  sure, 
however,  in  reading  the  charter  of  this  institution  that  with  all 
this  modern  broadening  of  the  scope  of  our  religious  respon- 
sibility our  founders  would  have  been  in  complete  accord.  But 
in  this  development  we  must  admit  that  there  have  been  some, 


46 

perhaps  unavoidable,  losses.  We  have  lost  in  our  thought- 
fulness  of  God.  His  universe  is  so  fascinating  and  absorbing 
that  we  seem  to  have  no  surplus  attention  to  devote  to  Him. 
We  have  lost  in  reverence.  The  Old  Testament  phrase  "  them 
that  fear  Thy  name "  seems  scarcely  applicable  to  our  re- 
ligious experience.  We  have  lost  the  tone  of  authority  which 
conscience  had  when  men  connected  it  directly  with  Him  that 
sitteth  upon  the  throne.  And  above  all  we  have  lost  that  defi- 
nite consciousness  of  our  personal  relationship  with  God,  which 
comes  very  near  to  being  the  essence  of  vital  religion.  Indeed, 
there  is  much  Christianity  which  it  would  not  be  wholly  false 
to  describe  as  godless.  There  are  many  men  who  share  the 
humanitarian  attitude  of  Jesus,  who  are  in  sympathy  with  His 
ethical  ideals,  who  cherish  His  social  hopes,  but  who  part  com- 
pany with  Him  in  that  which  was  with  Him  fundamental — 
His  sonship  with  God. 

They,  whose  legatees  you  and  I  are,  were  no  worshippers 
of  an  unnamed  Deity.  They  knew  Him  far  too  personally 
for  that.  He  was  the  God  and  Father  of  Jesus  Christ,  the 
God  who  revealed  Himself  to  holy  men  of  old  and  is  still  re- 
vealing Himself  to  holy  men  to-day,  the  God  who  became  en- 
tirely frank  with  His  children  when  His  Word  became  flesh 
and  dwelt  among  us,  and  so  gave  us  God's  own  name  for  Him- 
self: 

"  Jesus,  name  of  wondrous  love, 
Human  name  of  God  above." 

Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  for  them,  as  He  is  for  us,  God's  Self- 
disclosure  in  a  human  life,  "  God's  God  in  the  mind  of  man." 

One  may  say  without  exaggeration  that  all  the  eftorts  of 
the  scholars  who  gave  this  Seminary  its  reputation  in  days 
gone  by,  and  all  the  struggles  for  truth  and  liberty  in  which 
it  has  engaged,  were  motived  by  the  desire  to  set  forth  more 
clearly  Jesus  Christ  as  the  only  and  final  name  for  God.  This 
was  the  impulse  which  led  its  teachers  of  a  past  generation  to 
modify  their  inherited  Calvinism,  and  which  has  influenced  its 
more  recent  scholars  in  their  Biblical  criticism  and  their  re- 
statement of  theology  in  terms  of  the  social  purpose  of  Jesus 
— the  Kingdom  of  God.  Many  good  people  have  not  under- 
stood them,  and  have  been  led  to  criticize  and  oppose,  when 
could  they  but  have  known  their  motive,  they  would  have  been 
in  heartiest  sympathy  with  them.  Such  misunderstandings 
are  pathetically  inevitable  in  all  advances  of  thought.    The  in- 


47 

terest  in  Jesus  Christ  we  inherit  is  in  Him  as  the  name,  the 
revelation  of  God.  We  give  Him  all  our  loyalty,  all  our  trust, 
all  our  consecration,  all  our  worship,  and  are  not  idolaters, 
because  He  is  for  us  the  image  of  the  invisible  God.  When 
we  name  Him,  we  do  not  think  merely  of  One  who  lived  in 
the  past,  but  of  the  living  God,  His  God  and  Father,  of  whom 
He  is  the  likeness  and  to  whom  He  is  the  way. 

The  task  to  which  those  whose  heritage  is  this  conviction 
must  set  themselves  to-day  is  the  interpretation  to  men  by 
Jesus  of  that  which  they  are  seeking  with  such  religious  de- 
votion anonymously.  "  What  ye  worship  in  ignorance,  this  I 
set  forth  unto  you — the  God  that  made  the  world  and  all  things 
therein,  He  being  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  is  our  Father 
disclosed  in  Jesus  Christ,  His  Son."  We  must  make  them  feel 
that  in  investigating  truth,  they  are  discovering  the  mind  of 
the  All-wise,  whose  treasures  of  wisdom  and  knowledge  for 
life  are  accessible  in  Christ ;  that  in  shouldering  social  obliga- 
tions they  are  bearing  burdens  which  rest  on  the  heart  of  One 
who  unceasingly  and  unsparingly  gives  Himself  to  be  God  and 
Father  to  everybody,  as  Jesus  gave  Himself  to  be  everyone's 
Friend ;  that  in  attempting  economic  readjustments  by  which 
none  shall  waste  and  none  shall  want,  they  are  fulfilling  His 
will  in  whose  household  there  is  bread  enough  and  to  spare, 
and  that  in  the  solution  of  their  complex  problems  they  can 
draw  on  His  wisdom  and  sympathy  extended  in  Jesus ;  that 
in  working  for  human  health  and  happiness,  they  have  His  co- 
operation whose  attitude  towards  pain  and  misery  is  manifest 
in  Him  who  Himself  took  our  infirmities  and  bore  our  dis- 
eases, and  willed  that  His  joy  should  be  in  us  and  that  our  joy 
should  be  made  full;  that  in  seeking  to  redeem  the  worthless 
into  useful  men  and  women,  and  to  regenerate  a  selfish  world 
into  a  "  realm  where  the  air  we  breathe  is  love,"  they  are  co- 
workers of  Him  whose  eternal  purpose  is  the  heavenly  social 
order  Jesus  proclaimed  and  whose  nature  is  the  redeeming 
love  commended  to  a  sinning  world  on  Calvary.  The  heritage 
of  which  we,  with  the  Church  universal,  are  custodians,  and 
which  it  is  ours  to  give  to  all  men,  is  fellowship  with  God 
through  Jesus  Christ  in  seeking  His  kingdom  and  His  right- 
eousness. 

It  is  significant  that  the  most  noticeable  and  the  most 
beautiful  of  this  group  of  buildings  is  not  that  which  contains 
the  library  or  the  lecture  rooms,  but  the  chapel.  This  Sem- 
inary exists  to  train  men  to  be  skilful  workmen  in  a  most, 
surely  in  the  most,  difficult  of  callings — the  inspiration  of  lives 


48 

with  the  Spirit  of  God.  In  their  equipment  we  deem  the 
primary  requisite  not  knowledge  of  methods  of  work,  not 
familiarity  with  the  best  religious  thought  of  others,  past  or 
present,  but  personal  acquaintance  with  God  Himself.  Before 
all  they  must  be  "  men  of  God."  And  as  the  center  of  this 
institution's  life  on  its  new  site,  as  on  its  old,  we  dedicate  a 
house  of  prayer. 

That  which  claims  the  first  attention  of  all  who  enter  here 
is  yonder  window.  It  symbolizes  two  great  sacraments.  The 
one  is  the  sacrament  of  responsibility.  "  Go  ye  into  all  the 
world  and  make  disciples  of  all  the  nations."  It  reminds  us 
that  the  Church's  task  is  the  transformation  of  an  entire  world 
into  the  kingdom  of  love,  the  remodeling  of  every  institution 
and  the  redemption  of  every  man,  woman  and  child,  until  so- 
ciety is  divine  and  every  individual  Christlike.  And  such  re- 
sponsibility is  a  sacrament.  It  is  when  men  are  captivated  by 
this  vision  and  feel  themselves  committed  to  this  labor  that  they 
realize  how  desirable,  how  indispensable  God  is. 

"  Ere  earth  gain  her  heavenly  best  a  God  must  mingle  in  the 
game." 

The  other  is  the  sacrament  of  memory.  The  window  com- 
memorates a  Christian  who  was  a  splendid  type  of  the  God- 
fearing man  this  Seminary  would  have  its  graduates  seek  to 
produce  by  their  ministry ;  and  it  portrays  in  symbolical  figures 
the  Church  of  the  past  and  above  all  its  Lord  and  ours.  As 
the  light  streams  through  those  figured  panes  into  our  faces, 
so  through  the  memories  of  the  saints,  and  supremely  of  the 
King  of  saints,  God  reveals  to  us  His  name.  There  is  the  type 
of  religion  for  which  this  Seminary  stands — a  whole  world  for 
which  to  feel  responsible,  and  the  God  disclosed  in  Jesus  Christ 
and  all  His  followers  with  whom  to  serve  it.  This  responsi- 
bility and  these  memories  are  our  inheritance,  the  heritage  of 
those  that  fear  God's  name. 


V 

THE   ADDRESSES    AT    THE    STUDENT 
MEETING 

1  Historical  Address  by  the  Reverend  Professor  William 

Adams  Brown,  Ph.D.,  D.D. 

2  Address  by  President  Jacob  Gould  Schurman,  LL.D., 

"  Some  Elements  of  Religious  Progress." 


I. 

Historical  Address 

By  the  Reverend  Professor  William  Adams   Brown, 
Ph.D.,  D.D. 

I  have  been  asked  to  tell  you  as  much  of  the  history  of 
the  Seminary  as  it  is  possible  to  crowd  into  thirty  minutes.  I 
am  sure  you  will  feel  for  me.  If,  in  my  life  as  a  teacher, 
I  have  ever  been  lacking  in  sympathy  with  any  of  you,  my 
fellow  students,  as  you  have  tried  to  compress  the  wisdom 
of  a  lifetime  into  the  rapidly-vanishing  minutes  of  an  examina- 
tion hour,  I  repent  now  in  dust  and  ashes.  On  my  table  at 
home  lies  a  paper  which  represents  my  final  effort  at  con- 
densation. It  would  take  me  just  an  hour  and  fifteen  minutes 
to  read  it.  Our  beloved  President,  masking  under  his  gentle 
mien  an  inexorable  resolution,  refuses  to  allow  me  five  min- 
utes more.     What  am  I  to  do  ? 

What  can  I  do  but  what  I  have  done ;  leave  my  paper  at 
home  and  start  afresh?  What  I  bring  to  you  to-night  is  not 
a  history  of  the  Seminary,  but  the  impression  which  has  been 
left  on  my  mind  as  I  have  tried  to  relive  it. 

Every  one  of  us  has  two  lives,  an  outer  and  an  inner. 
The  former  is  made  up  of  event  and  incident,  and  the  com- 
plete record  of  it  would  fill  many  volumes ;  the  latter  is  a  qual- 
ity of  spirit,  and  a  half  hour  spent  alone  over  the  fire  may 
suffice  for  the  revelation  of  the  best  we  have.  It  is  with  insti- 
tutions as  it  is  with  men.  They  are  spirit  as  well  as  body,  and 
it  is  the  spirit  that  counts.  Bear  with  me,  then,  as  I  try  to 
interpret  to  you  the  spirit  of  the  Seminary  as  it  has  revealed 
itself  to  me  in  my  communion  with  the  memories  of  the  past. 

The  first  impression  that  I  have  carried  away  is  one  of 
inner  consistency.  The  story  is  all  of  a  piece.  Seventy-five 
years  ago  nine  gentlemen  met  in  the  study  of  Mr.  Knowles 
Taylor,  a  prominent  New  York  layman,  to  consider  the  ex- 
pediency of  establishing  a  theological  seminary  in  the  City  of 

51 


52 

New  York.  Five  of  the  nine  were  laymen.  All  were  men 
eminent  in  their  various  callings  and  professions.  All  were 
devoted,  heart  and  soul,  to  the  cause  of  missions,  home  and 
foreign,  and  many  of  them  were  officers  or  active  workers  in 
the  great  missionary  societies. 

These  men  felt  the  need  of  a  training  school  for  the  Chris- 
tian ministry,  different  in  kind  from  any  which  was  then  in 
existence.  The  seminaries  with  which  they  were  familiar 
failed  to  satisfy  them  at  three  points.  In  the  first  place,  they 
were  under  ecclesiastical  control ;  in  the  second  place,  the 
training  which  they  gave  was  narrow ;  in  the  third  place,  they 
were  remote  from  the  great  centres  of  human  life.  The  men 
who  founded  Union  believed  that  there  was  room  for  some- 
thing different,  and  the  ideal  which  animated  them  they  have 
put  into  words  which  no  Union  Seminary  man  will  ever  forget. 

I  will  not  repeat  here  the  famous  preamble,  which  is  the 
charter  of  our  liberties.  It  is  enough  to  remind  you  of  its 
salient  points,  so  far  as  they  are  necessary  for  the  under- 
standing of  the  history  that  followed. 

In  the  first  place,  the  founders  expressed  their  belief  that 
a  great  city  furnishes  peculiar  facilities  and  advantages  for 
conducting  theological  education. 

In  the  second  place,  while  providing  for  instruction  in  the 
doctrine  and  discipline  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  of  which 
they  were  members,  they  declared  their  purpose  to  furnish 
the  means  of  a  full  and  thorough  education  in  all  the  subjects 
taught  in  the  best  theological  seminaries  in  this  and  other 
countries. 

In  the  third  place,  they  emphasized  the  importance  of  prac- 
tical training  for  an  efficient  ministry.  They  believed  that  it 
was  not  enough  to  be  pious  and  scholarly;  one  must  know 
how  to  express  his  faith  and  to  apply  his  knowledge  in  action. 
Accordingly,  they  proposed  that  their  students  identify  them- 
selves with  the  various  churches  of  the  city,  actively  engage  in 
their  services  and  become  familiar  with  all  the  benevolent 
efforts  of  the  city  and  of  the  time. 

In  the  fourth  place,  they  proposed  to  train  men  not  only 
for  the  Christian  ministry,  but  for  every  form  of  Christian 
service,  whether  educational,  philanthropic  or  religious. 

Finally,  they  wished  to  provide  an  institution  of  truly 
catholic  spirit,  or,  in  other  words,  to  use  their  own  memorable 
language,  one  "  around  which  all  men  of  moderate  views  and 
feelings  who  desire  to  live  free  from  party  strife  and  to  stand 
aloof  from  all  extremes  of  doctrinal  speculation,  practical  rad- 


53 

icalism  and  ecclesiastical  domination,  may  cordially  and  af- 
fectionately rally." 

Contact  with  life  in  its  intenscst  form,  the  most  thorough 
training  possible,  practical  discipline  gained  through  repeated 
experiment,  a  wide  outlook  and  a  catholic  sympathy,  a  liberty 
safeguarded  against  the  dangers  of  license,  whether  on  the 
side  of  thought  or  practice,  by  devotion  to  a  great  cause: — 
such  were  the  ideals  of  the  founders  for  the  institution  they 
created.  We,  their  descendants,  surveying  their  work  after 
the  lapse  of  three  quarters  of  a  century,  find  nothing  either  to 
add  or  to  take  away. 

No  doubt  there  were  ups  and  downs  in  the  history.  We 
do  not  always  see  things  with  equal  clearness,  and  we  are 
not  always  equally  true  to  what  we  see.  Yet,  on  the  whole, 
I  repeat,  the  impression  produced  is  one  of  singular  consist- 
ency. What  Union  Seminary  was  to  the  mind  of  its  founders, 
that  it  is  to  us,  their  descendants,  to-day. 

The  story  of  the  outer  life  falls  into  five  chapters.  First, 
the  days  of  struggle  and  weakness,  from  1835  to  1852;  sec- 
ondly, the  period  of  reconstruction,  financial  and  educational, 
from  1852  to  the  reunion  of  the  old  and  new  schools  in  1870; 
thirdly,  the  period  of  enlarging  activity  and  growing  useful- 
ness, including  the  presidency  of  William  Adams,  from  1873 
to  1880,  and  culminating  in  the  removal  of  the  Seminary  to 
its  new  site  on  Lenox  Hill  in  1884.  Fourthly,  the  period  of 
storm  and  stress,  marked  by  the  veto  of  Dr.  Briggs'  transfer 
by  the  General  Assembly  in  1891,  the  resumption  by  the  Semi- 
nary in  1892  of  the  independence  which  it  had  surrendered 
in  1870,  and  the  trials  of  Dr.  Briggs  and  of  Dr.  McGiffert, 
and  ending  with  the  alteration  of  the  terms  of  subscription  in 
1904.  Finally,  the  new  era  of  opportunity  and  service,  in  the 
dawn  of  which  we  stand  to-day:  1835  to  1852;  1852  to  1870; 
1870  to  1884;  1884  to  1904;  1904  to  the  present — these  are  the 
outward  landmarks.  What  they  mean  for  the  inner  life  of  the 
institution  we  have  now  to  consider. 

What  then  is  this  spirit  of  Union,  of  which  we  love  to 
speak?  First  of  all,  it  is  a  spirit  of  confidence  in  the  truth. 
If  anything  may  be  said  to  be  characteristic  of  the  Seminary 
it  is  this.  The  founders  were,  with  a  single  exception,  New 
School  men,  and  this  is  only  another  way  of  saying  that  they 
were  confirmed  optimists.  Their  differences  with  the  Old 
School  men  were  not  so  much  theological  as  ecclesiastical  and 
practical.  They  believed  that  God  was  in  his  Heaven,  and 
therefore  that  all  was  well  with  His  world.     It  was  not  that 


54 

they  were  more  radical  in  their  theology,  but  that  they  were 
more  hopeful  in  spirit.  They  believed  that  the  truth  was  able 
to  take  care  of  itself,  and  were  eager  to  co-operate  in  prac- 
tical effort  with  every  one  who  shared  this  faith.  Those  whom 
they  associated  with  them  were  men  of  like  mind  with  them- 
selves, and  the  new  Seminary  became  almost  from  its  birth 
the  organ  of  the  New  School  and  the  training  school  of  its 
ministers  in  the  new  era  of  independence  which  the  disrup- 
tion of  1837  forced  upon  it. 

A  single  instance  will  illustrate  what  I  mean.  When  Henry 
B.  Smith  came  to  the  Seminary  in  1850  he  was  fresh  from 
New  England,  and  what  was  still  more  dangerous,  only  four 
years  away  from  Germany.  In  his  inaugural  address  at  An- 
dover  a  few  years  before,  he  had  paid  a  glowing  tribute  to 
Schleiermacher  as  the  great  German  theologian,  who  first  in 
modern  times  led  his  fellow  countrymen  back  to  the  feet  of 
Christ.  It  was  not  strange  that  a  man  of  such  a  type  should 
be  looked  upon  askance  in  Presbyterian  circles.  It  seems  that 
some  of  his  own  colleagues  had  their  doubts. 

Dr.  Smith  thus  describes  a  conversation  which  he  had  with 
Dr.  White,  his  colleague  in  the  Chair  of  Systematic  Theology, 
just  before  he  came  to  the  Seminary. 

"  Last  evening  I  spent  wholly  till  eleven  o'clock  and  after 
with  Dr.  White  talking  over  the  whole  Seminary  and  matters 
thereto  belonging.  He  was  rather  curious  about  some  of  my 
theological  opinions,  and  we  got  into  a  discussion  of  two  hours 
on  the  person  of  Christ,  in  which  he  claimed  that  I  advocated 
something  inconsistent  with  the  Catechism,  and  I  claimed  that 
he  taught  what  was  against  the  Catechism,  which  was  rather 
a  hard  saying  against  an  old-established  professor  of  theology. 
However,  it  was  all  very  well  and  kind  on  both  sides,  and  did 
not  prevent  his  urging  my  coming  here." 

"  It  was  all  very  well  and  kind  on  both  sides,  and  did  not 
prevent  his  urging  my  coming  here."  Here  speaks  the  spirit 
of  Union ;  mutual  confidence  consistent  with  the  recognition 
of  individual  differences.  So  may  it  ever  be.  God  forbid 
that  the  day  shall  ever  come  when  all  the  members  of  the 
Union  Seminary  faculty  shall  be  men  of  one  type,  however  ex- 
cellent that  type  may  be. 

Next  in  the  order  of  my  impressions  is  that  of  thorough- 
ness of  preparation.  The  men  who  founded  Union  Seminary 
were  men  of  affairs,  and  they  believed  in  training.  They 
thought  the  best  training  possible  was  none  too  good  for  a 
minister  of  Jesus  Christ.     They  believed  in  training  in  theory 


55 

as  well  as  training  in  practice,  important  as  they  regarded  the 
latter,  and  strenuously  as  they  insisted  upon  it.  In  the  darkest 
days  of  the  institution,  when  the  Seminary  was  practically 
bankrupt,  they  invested  $5,000  in  the  Van  Ess  Library,  a  sum 
more  than  half  as  great  as  that  paid  for  the  site  of  the  build- 
ing. They  knew  that  a  seminary  without  books  was  a  con- 
tradiction in  terms,  and  they  were  determined  that  Union 
should  have  the  best  that  could  be  obtained,  whatever  the  cost. 

The  spirit  of  the  founders  was  the  spirit  of  the  professors. 
I  wish  I  had  the  time  to  read  the  letter  written  by  Dr.  Robin- 
son when  he  accepted  his  appointment  to  the  Chair  of  Biblical 
Literature.  It  was  no  light  matter,  I  can  tell  you,  to  study 
under  this  insatiable  scholar. 

"  To  understand  the  Bible,"  he  tells  us,  "the  student  must 
know  all  about  the  Bible.  It  is  not  a  mere  smattering  of  Greek 
and  Hebrew,  not  the  mere  ability  to  consult  a  text  in  the  orig- 
inal Scriptures,  that  can  qualify  him  to  be  a  correct  interpreter 
of  the  word  of  life.  He  must  be  thoroughly  furnished  for 
his  work  if  he  be  expected  to  do  his  work  well." 

And  then  he  goes  on  to  enumerate  the  particulars  which 
fall  within  the  department  as  he  understands  it. 

"  To  it  properly  belong  full  courses  of  instruction  in  the 
Hebrew,  Greek  and  Chaldee  languages,  and  also  as  auxiliaries 
in  the  Syriac,  Arabic  and  other  minor  dialects ;  in  Biblical  In- 
troduction, or  the  history  of  the  Bible  as  a  whole  and  its  various 
parts,  its  writers,  its  manuscripts,  editions,  etc. ;  in  Biblical 
Criticism,  or  the  History  and  condition  of  the  text ;  in  Biblical 
Hermeneutics,  or  the  theory  and  principles  of  Interpretation  ; 
in  Biblical  Exegesis  or  the  practical  application  of  those  prin- 
ciples to  the  study  and  interpretation  of  the  sacred  books ;  in 
Biblical  Antiquities ;  and  further,  a  separate  consideration  of 
the  version  of  the  Seventy  as  a  chief  source  of  illustration  for 
both  the  Old  and  New  Testaments." 

This  was  written  in  1837.  Even  our  own  beloved  Dr. 
Briggs,  from  his  high  tower  of  theological  encyclopaedia  sur- 
veying the  whole  field  of  human  knowledge,  could  find  little 
to  add  to  such  a  program. 

New  subjects  have  taken  their  place  in  the  Seminary  cur- 
riculum, but  the  old  spirit  lives  on.  If  sometimes  in  our  zeal 
we  younger  men  are  tempted  to  ask  of  our  students  more  than 
we  ought,  you  must  remember  the  training  we  have  ourselves 
received.  To  those  who  have  studied  under  Dr.  Briggs,  Ed- 
ward Robinson  professor  in  fact  as  well  as  in  name,  and  the 
teachers  whom  he  has  trained,  lack  of  thoroughness  is  not  an 


56 

intellectual  failing,  it  is  a  moral  fault.  We  cannot  help  this 
feeling.  It  is  bred  in  our  bones.  We  have  drunk  it  in  from 
the  mother  who  has  nurtured  us.  We  owe  it  to  ourselves ;  we 
owe  it  to  our  fellowmen ;  we  owe  it  to  our  Master,  to  learn  all 
that  we  can  learn,  that  we  may  be  able  to  do  all  that  we  can  do. 

With  confidence  in  the  truth  and  thoroughness  of  training 
went  courage  in  the  defense  of  the  right.  This  is  my  third  im- 
pression. Twice  in  its  history  the  Seminary  has  faced  a  crisis 
which  would  have  daunted  men  of  less  heroic  mould.  From 
each  it  has  emerged  triumphant.  The  first  was  financial.  It 
met  the  Seminary  on  the  threshold  of  its  history  before  it  had 
had  time  to  take  root  in  the  new  soil.  The  founders  met  for 
the  first  time  in  1835.  Two  years  later  the  panic  of  1837  swept 
over  the  country,  carrying  down  with  it  many  of  those  on 
whose  support  they  had  relied.  Many  of  the  subscriptions, 
which  had  been  made  in  good  faith,  could  not  be  collected. 
The  original  plans  which  contemplated  houses  for  the  pro- 
fessors had  to  be  abandoned.  The  property  was  heavily  mort- 
gaged, the  salaries  of  the  professors  were  often  months  in  ar- 
rears, and  they  were  reduced  to  every  shift  to  keep  body  and 
soul  together. 

But  they  never  faltered  for  a  moment.  The  darker  grew 
the  outlook,  "  the  more  hopeful,  even  brilliant "  it  seemed  to 
them.  The  words  are  not  my  own,  but  those  of  Mr.  Charles 
Butler,  claruni  et  venerahile  nomen, — long  time  our  honored 
President,  himself  one  of  the  founders  and  a  participant  of 
the  vicissitudes  of  those  early  days.  "  I  can  recall  in  mem- 
ory," he  says,  "  but  cannot  describe  the  feeling  that  was 
reflected  on  the  countenances  of  the  members  when  called  to- 
gether to  consider  what  could  be  done  to  meet  the  impending 
exigencies.  These  meetings  were  generally  attended  by  the 
professors  as  well  and  were  always  opened  and  closed  with 
prayer."  Thus  began  a  feature  of  the  Seminary  life  which 
has  been  characteristic  ever  since, — the  close  contact  between 
Faculty  and  Board  and  the  entire  frankness  and  confidence 
which  have  ever  marked  their  relations. 

The  turn  of  the  tide  came  in  1852.  In  that  year,  as  the 
result  of  a  sermon  preached  by  Dr.  Prentiss,  a  meeting  was 
called  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Charles  Butler,  at  which  it  was 
resolved  to  inaugurate  a  movement  for  immediate  and  full 
endowment.  In  the  course  of  the  next  twenty  years,  through 
the  united  efforts  of  the  friends  of  the  Seminary,  nearly  a 
million  dollars  was  raised  and  the  financial  stability  of  the 
Seminary  once  for  all  secured. 


57 

The  second  crisis  in  the  Seminary's  history  was  far  more 
serious  and  called  for  courage  of  a  higher  order.  It  was  the 
struggle  with  the  General  Assembly  which  began  with  the 
veto  of  Dr.  Briggs'  transfer  to  the  Edward  Robinson  Chair  in 
1891. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  in  this  hour  consecrated  to  the  for- 
ward look  to  revive  old  memories.  The  controversy  between 
the  Seminary  and  the  Assembly  has  become  a  matter  of  his- 
tory, and  it  is  not  necessary  in  this  presence  to  tell  again 
what  has  been  retold  so  often  before.  Let  the  dead  past  bury 
its  dead.  Our  interest  in  the  struggle  to-day  is  in  its  revela- 
tion of  the  spirit  of  the  Seminary. 

I  can  remember  as  if  it  were  yesterday  the  intensity  of 
feeling  which  marked  those  early  days.  The  controversy  be- 
tween the  Seminary  and  the  Assembly  was  at  its  height  dur- 
ing the  first  years  of  my  official  connection  with  the  Seminary 
Faculty.  With  what  quiet  patience  all  who  were  concerned 
carried  themselves  during  this  great  ordeal,  none  could  know 
better  than  the  younger  men  who  saw  them  in  the  intimacy 
of  the  classroom  and  of  the  Faculty  meeting.  The  work  of 
the  Seminary  proceeded  as  quietly  as  if  nothing  were  happen- 
ing without.  We  used  to  say,  half  in  jest,  and  yet  I  think  it 
was  literally  true,  that  the  only  place  where  you  could  go  with- 
out hearing  the  Briggs  case  discussed  was  Union  Seminary. 
Yet,  underneath  this  quiet  exterior  a  great  fire  was  burning. 
It  was  a  time  that  tried  men's  souls.  Old  ties  were  sundered ; 
lifelong  friendships  severed.  Every  motive  that  could  be 
brought  to  bear  upon  men  was  used  to  influence  the  Directors 
and  friends  of  the  Seminary  to  abandon  this  faithful  servant 
of  God  whom  the  highest  court  of  their  own  church  had 
publicly  adjudged  a  heretic.  Financial  support  was  cut  ofT, 
motives  were  impugned,  students  turned  aside  to  other  sem- 
inaries, but  the  men  at  the  helm  never  faltered  for  an  instant. 
They  had  taken  their  course  deliberately  and  under  a  high 
sense  of  responsibilty  to  God,  and  they  kept  it  unfalteringly 
to  the  end. 

For  you  younger  men,  sitting  in  this  beautiful  chapel  to- 
day, with  every  sight  and  sound  about  you  ministering  to  the 
sense  of  peace  and  beauty,  it  is  difficult  to  realize  what  you 
owe  to  those  who  fought  your  battles  in  the  past.  With  a 
great  price  they  won  the  liberty  to  which  we  were  born.  I 
think  of  Butler  and  Dana,  and  Jesup  and  Dodge  and  Cuth- 
bert  Hall  and  James  and  Brown,  and  all  the  honored  roll  of 
faces  whom  we  miss  to-day.     Would  that  they  could  be  with 


58 

us  to  rejoice  in  the  new  era  which  their  sacrifices  and  stead- 
fast courage  have  made  ix)ssible.  Of  the  Uving,  one  name 
only  I  will  name,  our  leader  through  those  years  of  storm 
and  stress,  through  the  providence  of  God  preserved  to  enjoy 
in  the  ripeness  of  his  age  the  veneration  of  the  sons  of  Union, 
our  beloved  ex-President,  Thomas  S.  Hastings,  wise  in  coun- 
sel, courteous  in  manner,  unswerving  in  courage,  trusted 
leader  of  men  who  were  themselves  accustomed  to  lead,  his 
name  will  be  held  in  remembrance  wherever  men  love  liberty 
and  honor  truth. 

A  fourth  impression  which  I  have  carried  away  from  my 
survey  is  that  of  catholicity  of  spirit.  I  have  said  that  the 
founders  were  New  School  men,  and  that  means  that  they 
were  willing  to  work  with  anybody  who  was  willing  to  work 
with  them.  From  the  first  the  doors  of  the  Seminary  have 
been  open  to  men  of  all  denominations,  and  all  shades  of  the- 
ological opinion  have  found  shelter  within  its  walls.  What- 
ever was  of  interest  to  the  church  of  Christ  here  or  across 
the  sea  has  found  a  quick  response  in  the  hearts  of  Faculty 
and  students.  Nowhere  has  Christ's  prayer  that  his  disciples 
might  all  be  one  been  prayed  more  fervently  than  within  these 
walls. 

To  this  eager  love  for  unity  must  be  traced  the  one  serious 
mistake  in  policy  which  the  annals  of  the  Seminary  disclose — 
I  mean  the  so-called  compact  of  1870.  This  was  an  agree- 
ment between  the  Seminary  and  the  General  Assembly,  by 
which  the  former  agreed  to  grant  the  Assembly  the  right  of 
veto  over  its  professors,  provided  the  latter  would  relinquish, 
in  the  case  of  the  seminaries  under  its  control,  the  right  of 
direct  appointment  of  professors  which  it  had  hitherto  exer- 
cised. This  action  was  taken  at  the  earnest  request  of  Dr. 
William  Adams,  the  leader  of  the  New  School  in  the  reunion 
movement,  and  one  of  the  most  influential  members  of  the 
Board.  Himself  an  ardent  lover  of  liberty,  chosen  by  common 
acclaim  as  the  one  American  Christian  fitted  to  voice  his 
country's  welcome  to  the  Evangelical  Alliance  at  its  first 
meeting  on  this  side  of  the  sea,  so  great  was  his  zeal  for  the 
unity  of  the  church  that  he  was  willing  that  the  Seminary, 
which  he  loved  and  served,  should  surrender  some  part  of 
her  own  liberty,  if  by  doing  so  she  could  help  others  to  a 
larger  freedom.  The  decision  was  not  made  without  search- 
ing of  heart  on  the  part  of  the  Directors  and,  in  the  case  of 
one  of  them,  Mr.  D.  Willis  James,  with  grave  misgivings. 
Time  proved  the  action  mistaken  and  in  due  course  the  Board 


59 

resumed  the  power  which  for  the  time  it  had  surrendered. 
But  if  it  was  a  mistake,  it  was  a  mistake  that  honored  those 
who  made  it. 

The  same  spirit  of  cathohcity  accounts  for  the  last  step 
taken  by  the  Seminary  in  its  progress  toward  complete  free- 
dom, namely,  the  abolition  of  the  requirement  of  subscription 
to  the  Westminster  Confession.  This  action  was  taken  on 
November  15,  1904,  when  Dr.  Charles  Cuthbert  Hall  was 
President  of  the  Faculty.  In  place  of  the  previous  require- 
ment it  was  provided  that  each  new  member  of  the  Board  and 
of  the  Faculty  should  in  the  presence  of  the  Board  express 
his  adherence  to  the  principles  of  the  institution  as  set  forth 
in  the  Preamble  of  January  18,  1836,  and  the  Charter  of 
March  27,  1839.  Further  action  provided  that  the  Directors 
should  be  members  in  good  and  regular  standing  in  some  evan- 
gelical church,  that  the  professors  of  Systematic  Theology 
and  Pastoral  Theology  should  be  ordained  ministers  of  the 
Gospel,  and  that  all  the  members  of  the  Faculty  should  satisfy 
the  Board  of  their  Christian  faith  and  life. 

This  action  must  not  be  understood  as  a  departure  from 
the  original  principles  of  the  Seminary.  On  the  contrary  it 
was  their  natural  consummation.  If  subscription  was  abol- 
ished it  was  not  that  we  w^ished'  to  believe  less,  but  that  we 
might  be  free  to  believe  more.  Above  all,  it  was  that  we 
might  open  our  doors  to  Christians  of  every  name,  that  they 
might  enter  in  and  share  our  work  with  us.  For  years  this 
principle  had  been  applied  to  the  student  body.  Now  at  last 
it  has  been  extended  to  the  members  of  the  Faculty  and  of  the 
Board. 

I  have  said  that  this  action  was  taken  under  Dr.  Hall's 
presidency,  and  with  the  name  I  mention  one  who  was  him- 
self the  very  embodiment  of  the  spirit  of  catholicity.  I  can 
see  him  to-day  as  he  stood  in  the  old  library  at  700  Park  Ave- 
nue, when  he  first  met  the  student  body  as  President-elect, 
his  face  radiant  with  that  sunny  smile  which  we  came  to 
know  so  well.  I  need  not  remind  you  how  quickly  he  won  his 
way  to  the  hearts  of  all  whom  he  touched,  or  speak  of  the 
many  improvements  which  he  introduced  into  the  Seminary 
life.  The  readjustment  of  the  scholarship  system  on  its  pres- 
ent basis,  the  provisions  of  the  Social  Room  and  of  the  social 
spirit,  without  which  the  room  would  have  been  useless,  the 
baths  and  the  handball  courts,  the  new  home  for  the  Union 
Settlement,  the  redecoration  of  the  Adams  Chapel,  and  the 
institution  of  the  new  service,  the  quiet  communion  seasons  at 


60 

eventide,  the  kindled  enthusiasm  for  missions, — all  of  these 
and  more  we  owe  to  him  whose  face  we  miss  to-day. 

Much  as  he  did  for  us,  he  was  more  than  all  that  he  did, 
and,  as  we  survey  these  spacious  buildings  and  study  their 
refined  decoration  and  graceful  form,  they  seem  to  be  the  in- 
carnation in  stone  of  that  exquisite  personality,  himself  the 
expression  in  human  life  of  the  spirit  of  religion  pure  and  un- 
defiled. 

Two  final  impressions,  and  I  am  done.  One  is  of  the  spirit 
of  service,  the  other  of  the  wealth  of  personality  which  the 
story  of  Union  reveals. 

On  the  first  I  can  touch  lightly,  not  because  it  is  less  im- 
portant, but  because  it  is  all  important.  It  is  that  for  which 
all  the  rest  of  which  I  have  spoken  exists.  If  our  fathers 
trusted  the  truth,  it  was  because  they  had  proved  its  power  in 
service.  If  they  believed  in  thorough  preparation,  it  was  in 
order  that  they  might  serve  better.  If  they  were  courageous 
in  conflict,  it  was  because  they  valued  the  right  to  serve  so 
highly  that  they  would  suffer  no  man  to  rob  them  of  it.  If, 
finally,  they  were  catholic  in  spirit,  it  was  because  they  were 
disciples  of  him  whose  kingdom  is  worldwide  and  who  came 
to  seek  and  to  save  the  lost. 

We  have  not  realized  our  ideal — far  from  it — but  at  least 
we  can  say  that  we  have  never  appreciated  our  ideal  more 
clearly  or  cherished  it  more  whole-heartedly  than  we  do  to- 
day. If  we  have  established  ourselves  on  these  heights,  close 
by  the  great  university  whose  throbbing  life  we  can  feel  pulsing 
through  our  own  veins,  it  is  not  that  we  would  abandon  the 
city  to  its  need,  but  that  we  may  gain  added  knowledge  to  aid 
us  in  the  solution  of  its  problems.  The  Settlement  on  East 
One  Hundred  and  Fourth  Street,  with  its  spacious  play-ground, 
surrounded  by  crowded  tenements,  is  as  truly  a  part  of  the 
Seminary  as  this  stately  pile  on  Morningside  Heights,  and  far 
away  on  the  frontiers  of  the  distant  West,  or  in  the  lumber 
camps  of  Maine,  or  among  the  Negroes  of  the  Southland,  or 
in  China  and  Japan  and  India  and  the  islands  of  the  sea,  wher- 
ever a  son  of  Union  in  the  spirit  of  his  Master  is  grappling 
hand  to  hand  with  the  problems  of  human  misery  and  human 
ignorance,  there  the  spirit  of  Union  is  present  and  the  heart 
of  the  Seminary  finds  expression. 

The  other  impression  is  of  the  wealth  of  personality.  To 
no  other  institution  on  God's  earth,  I  verily  believe,  has  it  been 
given  in  a  similar  space  of  time  to  gather  so  large  a  cluster 
of  devoted  friends.     What  a  roll  it  is  that  passes  before  the 


61 

mind  as  imagination  recalls  those  who  have  gone  before. 
Clergymen  like  Absalom  Peters,  Erskine  Mason,  Albert 
Barnes,  Samuel  Hanson  Cox,  George  L.  Prentiss,  Edwin  F. 
Hatfield,  Henry  B.  Smith,  Edward  Robinson,  William  Adams, 
William  G.  T.  Shedd,  Philip  Schaff,  Roswell  D.  Hitchcock, 
and  Charles  Cuthbert  Hall.  Laymen  like  Knowles  Taylor, 
Richard  T.  Haines,  William  M.  Halstead,  Norman  White,  An- 
son Phelps,  Fisher  Howe,  Frederick  Marquand,  James  Brown, 
Edwin  D.  Morgan,  Charles  Butler,  D.  Hunter  McAlpin,  Will- 
iam E.  Dodge,  Morris  K.  Jesup,  and  last  but  not  least  that 
far-sighted  merchant  and  simple  follower  of  Jesus  Christ, 
whose  name  this  chapel  commemorates.  Others  in  this  com- 
pany will  speak  his  praises  in  words  more  eloquent  than  mine, 
but  I  cannot  deny  myself  my  tribute  to  his  memory.  For 
more  than  forty  years  a  Director  of  Union  Theological  Sem- 
inary, for  ten  years  its  Vice-President,  always  its  generous 
benefactor  and  wise  counselor,  he  was  its  faithful  friend  in 
adversity  as  in  prosperity,  and  his  final  gift  was  but  the  crown 
of  a  life  which  was  full  of  giving. 

One  other  there  is,  of  whom  piety  will  not  sufifer  me  to  be 
silent,  though  piety  makes  it  difficult  for  me  to  speak.  We 
miss  to-day  one  face  that  was  with  us  at  the  laying  of  the 
corner-stone  a  year  ago.  It  is  a  face  that  has  grown  familiar 
to  many  generations  of  Union  Seminary  students,  not  only 
through  his  official  position  as  President  of  the  Seminary,  but 
in  the  more  informal  intercourse  of  the  home.  Bound  to  the 
Seminary  by  ancestral  ties,  for  forty  years  identified  with  its 
interests  as  Director,  Vice-President  and  President,  intimately 
associated  with  the  smallest  details  of  its  affairs,  it  was  to  him 
that  Mr.  James  first  communicated  his  generous  purpose,  and 
it  was  to  him  that  he  confided  the  execution  of  his  trust.  It 
was  not  his  privilege  to  see  the  completion  of  these  buildings, 
into  whose  every  stone  he  had  built  his  thought  and  love,  but 
to  the  end  he  carried  them  on  his  heart.  They  were  the  last 
responsibility  which  he  laid  down,  and  the  last  continued  con- 
versation which  I  had  with  him  only  a  week  before  his  death 
had  to  do  with  them. 

What  was  the  secret  of  this  devotion?  What  spell  does 
Union  possess  which  can  bind  to  her  service  men  such  as  these 
whose  names  we  have  mentioned?  Let  us  find  our  answer  in 
the  words  spoken  by  our  late  President  at  his  last  public  ap- 
pearance with  us,  when  he  laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  new 
buildings : 

"  As  the  representative  of  the  Board  of  Directors,"  so  the 


63 

solemn  words  run,  "  I  have  been  requested  to  lay  the  corner- 
stone of  this  group  of  buildings,  the  future  home  of  the  Union 
Theological  Seminary,  an  institution  founded  in  1836  by  godly 
men  '  to  prepare  young  men  for  the  service  of  Christ  in  the 
work  of  the  ministry.'  Sharing  with  the  Founders  the  belief 
that  for  all  enduring  religious  work  '  other  foundation  can  no 
man  lay  than  that  is  laid,  which  is  Jesus  Christ,'  the  Directors 
set  apart  this  stone  as  the  symbol  of  the  spiritual  foundation 
upon  which  this  Seminary  rests." 

Six  and  twenty  years  ago  the  friends  of  Union  Seminary 
met  upon  another  hilltop  to  dedicate  a  new  home.  How  little 
they  anticipated  what  the  next  quarter  of  a  century  would 
bring  forth.  "  The  present  location,"  said  Dr.  Hitchcock,  in 
his  memorable  dedicatory  address.  "  is  apparently  for  many 
decades,  if  not  for  all  time.  This  commanding  site,  so  near 
the  centre  of  the  island,  is  in  little  danger  of  losing  its  advan- 
tages. Right  behind  us  is  the  great  Central  Park,  close  around 
us  are  hospitals,  schools  and  galleries  of  art,  trophies  and 
adornments  of  an  advancing  civilization,  but  this  institution 
of  sacred  learning  which  we  dedicate  to-day,  interpreter  of 
God's  word,  herald  of  God's  grace,  outranks  them  all." 

Only  yesterday  I  stood  on  the  old  site,  now  a  heap  of 
ruins,  and  as  I  recalled  the  words  which  I  have  just  quoted 
in  your  hearing,  these  other  words,  spoken  by  an  older  mem- 
ber of  the  Seminary  many  years  before,  rose  unbidden  to  my 
lips :  "  Nothing,  my  brethren,  is  great  in  this  world  but  the 
Kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ.  Nothing  but  that  to  a  spiritual  eye 
has  the  air  of  permanency." 

•Nothing  in  this  world  is  great  but  the  Kingdom  of  Jesus 
Christ,  nothing  else  is  permanent.  Brick  and  mortar  may  de- 
cay, stones  may  crumble  into  dust,  one  generation  of  workers 
after  another  may  pass  away,  the  Kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ 
endures  forever.  This  is  the  ground  of  our  confidence  as  we 
look  forward  to  the  new  and  splendid  future  that  we  face. 
These  noble  buildings,  massive  as  they  are,  are  to  us  but  the 
symbol  of  a  reality  far  more  enduring,  even  the  Kingdom  of 
our  Lord  and  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ,  God  manifest  in  man,  the 
same  yesterday,  to-day  and  forever. 


63 


2. 
Some  Elements  of  Religious  Progress 

Address  by  President  Jacob  Gould  Schurman, 
Sc.D.,  LL.D. 

After  the  very  scholarly  and  instructive  and  inspiring  ad- 
dress of  Dr.  Brown,  to  which  you  have  listened,  I  need  offer 
no  apology  for  saying,  that  the  thing  about  Union  Theological 
Seminary  which  most  impresses  an  outsider,  Hke  myself, 
among  all  the  characteristic  things  which  he  has  mentioned  is 
its  catholicity.  When  your  President  honored  me  with  an  in- 
vitation to  speak  on  this  occasion,  he  didn't  limit  me  inexor- 
ably to  thirty  minutes,  but  as  he  understood  that  I  was  very 
busy,  he  diplomatically  remarked  that  it  was  not  necessary 
to  speak  more  than  thirty  or  forty  minutes.  I  think  I  can 
not  do  better  than  attempt  to  describe  as  I  see  them,  and  as 
I  have  tried  to  give  them  expression  in  my  own  mind,  some 
of  the  phases  of  religious  progress  which  our  generation  has 
witnessed. 

It  seemed  to  me,  as  I  have  said,  the  Union  Theological 
Seminary  was  the  embodiment  of  that  spirit.  And  when  I 
thought  of  the  scholars  who  have  been  and  are  of  its  Faculty, 
the  names  of  many  of  whom  you  have  heard  this  evening, 
I  felt  that  it  in  no  inconsiderable  measure  had  contributed  to 
this  religious  progress  in  America.  Nevertheless,  I  recognize 
that  the  movement  is  larger  than  any  institution,  and  there- 
fore it  seemed  to  me  that  in  a  sense  it  might  be  said  that 
Union  Theological  Seminary  was  the  effect  of  that  spirit.  And 
a  notable  institution  this  Seminary  is,  notable,  and  as  it  seems 
to  me  unique. 

Free  and  unfettered  it  devotes  itself  to  the  pursuit  of  truth 
in  the  whole  realm  of  theological  science  and  at  the  same  time 
it  trains  young  men  to  the  noble  calling  of  the  Christian  minis- 
try. As  it  devotes  itself  to  effort  in  this  field  it  is  akin  with 
the  university,  and  I  appeal  to  this  kindred  spirit  for  sympathy 
and  tolerance.  To  that  spirit  I  appeal  as  I  endeavor  to  de- 
scribe some  of  the  phases  of  progress  of  which  we  have  been 
conscious  in  the  religious  sphere  in  the  last  thirty  or  forty 
years. 

In  the  first  place,  and  to  put  it  strongly,  I  think  we  have 
witnessed  a  shifting  of  emphasis   from  individualism  to  the 


64 

improvement  or  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  society.  I 
am  not  saying  that  this  change  is  altogether  good.  I  can  easily 
see  or  imagine  m  certain  cases  that  it  is  carried  too  far,  and 
that  men  are  thinking  of  the  improvement  of  society  who 
ought  to  be  thinking  about  their  own  souls  and  characters  and 
about  Jesus  Christ. 

Nevertheless  it  is  a  change  which  has  come  over  the  religi- 
ous world.  I  think  there  has  never  been  a  time  since  Chris- 
tianity came  into  the  world  that  there  is  so  much  sympathy 
for  the  poor  and  concern  for  the  condition  of  the  poor  than 
there  is  to-day  in  all  ranks  of  society  and  especially  in  the 
Christian  Church,  and  when  we  recall  that  the  Founder  of 
this  Church  was  especially  solicitous  about  the  condition  of  the 
poor,  we  can  at  least  find  no  fault  with  this  shifting  of 
emphasis  in  the  attitude  and  work  of  the  modern  church. 
I  think,  however,  it  becomes  us  to  remember  that  our  attitude 
is  not  and  cannot  be  the  same  as  that  of  two  thousand  years 
ago.  Knowledge  and  exact  science  have  made  great  progress 
not  only  in  the  last  two  thousand  years  but  in  the  last  two 
hundred  years,  and  if  the  early  church  thought  of  relieving 
suffering,  the  church  of  to-day,  certainly,  with  the  scientific 
atmosphere  through  which  it  lives  and  moves,  will  more  and 
more  think  of  the  prevention  of  suffering,  and  as  there  can 
be  no  effective  prevention  of  any  evil,  whether  in  the  indi- 
vidual's life  or  in  the  life  of  society  without  the  knowledge  of 
causes,  we  shall  come  more  and  more  to  studying  the  causes 
of  social  evil  and  of  the  suft'ering  and  ills  of  society.  It  may 
well  be  that  some  of  the  subjects  which  that  worthy  of  1837 
desired  to  see  incorporated  in  the  curriculum  of  this  insti- 
tution, Hebraic,  Greek,  Chaldean,  Syriac  and  Arabic,  will  in 
the  course  of  time  be  omitted  and  your  students  will  pay 
more  attention  to  useful  sciences,  with  reference  both  to  the 
normal  condition  of  society  and  the  evils  and  sufferings  of  so- 
ciety. I  say  this,  because  I  know  at  the  present  time  that 
when  ministers  and  especially  young  ministers,  who  are  de- 
voted to  the  welfare  of  their  fellowmen,  and  burning  with 
desire  to  do  them  good,  face  this  great  social  problem  of 
our  time  they  very  easily  swing  to  socialism,  as  though  social- 
ism were  the  only  scheme  that  offered  relief  for  the  toiling 
masses.  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  when  we  know  more 
than  we  generally  know  to-day  about  the  causes  of  social 
evils,  we  shall  take  up  with  less  ambitious  schemes  and  try 
for  reform  and  improvement  here  a  little  and  there  a  little. 

For  instance:   justice  is  the   fundamental   foundation  of 


65 

the  State.  Plato  says  of  the  ideal  commonwealth  which  he 
calls  his  republic,  that  it  is  merely  justice  enlarged.  All  of 
us,  in  the  church  and  out  of  the  church,  have  a  right  to  insist 
that  justice  shall  be  done  in  the  modern  State,  and  if,  for 
instance,  we  find  the  burdens  of  taxation  falling  more  heavily 
on  the  poor  than  they  fall  on  the  rich  and  the  well-to-do,  then, 
in  the  name  of  justice  we  have  a  right  to  demand  that  these 
systems  of  indirect  taxation  which  produce  such  an  effect 
shall  be  modified,  and  that  some  device — income  tax  or  what 
not — shall  be  found  which  shall  compel  the  prosperous 
classes  of  the  community  to  support  the  government  in  pro- 
portion to  their  means  and  to  the  relief  of  the  great  mass  of 
the  poor  and  indigent. 

But  to  continue.  The  Christian  Church  is  devoted  to  peace 
on  earth  and  good  will  to  men.  It  is  the  shame  of  Christen- 
dom, the  burning,  intolerable  shame  of  Christendom,  that  so 
large  a  proportion  of  all  the  wealth  produced  in  our  industrial 
communities  is  used  to  provide  the  instrumentalities  of  war- 
fare. Socialism  does  well  to  cry  out  against  the  militant  spirit 
of  our  time  and  denounce  it.  I  believe  that  if  all  branches  of 
the  Christian  Church  in  all  countries  denounce  it  with  the  same 
fervor  and  earnestness  that  statesmen  of  the  great  powers  of 
the  world  would  find  a  solution  of  this  problem  or  give  up 
their  jobs. 

A  second  change  which  I  notice  in  the  religious  world  is 
a  reaction  from  dogmatic  religion  and  a  recoil  towards  what 
I  shall  call  spiritual  religion.  All  the  religions  of  the  world, 
as  I  understand  them,  have  three  elements.  They  have  an 
intellectual  element ;  tliey  must,  therefore,  be  dogmatic.  They 
have  an  aesthetic  element,  and,  therefore,  have  rituals,  and  they 
have  a  moral  and  a  spiritual  element.  For  hundreds,  I  might 
almost  say,  for  thousands  of  years,  the  Christian  religion  has 
laid  stress  on  dogma  as  the  essential  feature  of  religion.  The 
earliest  religions  laid  stress  on  ritual.  A  man  among  those 
communities  would  not  be  a  heretic  or  a  wrong  believer,  but 
he  would  be  a  wrongdoer  because  he  did  not  perform  the  rit- 
uals in  the  right  way. 

But  we  are  coming,  nowadays,  to  feel,  I  think,  throughout 
the  religious  world  in  general  that  neither  of  these  elements 
is  the  essential  element  in  religion,  though  both  of  them  will, 
I  suppose,  always  be  present  in  all  religions.  We  are  coming 
to  realize  more  and  more  that  the  essence  of  religion  is  the 
spirit  and  attitude  and  freedom  of  mind  with  which  they  ap- 
proach their  problems. 


66 

The  Founder  of  the  Christian  religion  paid  no  attention  to 
ritual  or  to  creed.  He  passed  them  sublimely  by,  and  the 
thing  I  am  trying  to  describe  perhaps  I  can  express  best  if  I 
should  say  that  we  seem  to  me  to  be  rediscovering,  after  nearly 
two  thousand  years,  Jesus  Christ  and  his  religion.  There  are 
reasons,  no  doubt,  which  have  hastened  this  movement,  ap- 
pearing outside  the  Christian  Church  itself.  The  most  potent 
of  these  has  been  the  development  of  exact  science.  It  is  sim- 
ply impossible  for  us  nowadays  to  take  up  the  same  attitude 
toward  dogmas  which  was  assumed  towards  them  thirty,  forty 
or  fifty  years  ago.  I  do  not  mean  that  we  are  bound  to  accept 
the  speculations  and  hypotheses  of  rash  inquirers,  who  call 
themselves  physical  scientists  or  historical  critics,  but  I  do 
mean  that  both  scientists  and  historians  have  built  up,  in  the 
course  of  the  last  two  or  three  generations,  and  notably  in  the 
last  fifty  years,  a  body  of  exact  and  verified  science,  and  this 
science  has  become  in  its  general  phases  the  commonplace  of 
popular  thought,  and  the  methods  of  research  which  these  in- 
vestigators have  followed  are  the  only  methods  in  which  we 
now  have  confidence.  These  things  have  been  assimilated  by 
the  people,  and  are  now  an  expression  of  the  spirit  of  the 
times.  They  have  all  been  verified  and  interest  us  all,  and 
consequently,  whether  we  would  or  not,  we  simply  find  it  im- 
possible to  take  the  attitude  towards  dogmas  which  the  human 
race  possessed  prior  to  the  advent  of  this  scientific  knowledge 
and  these  scientific  methods. 

A  generation  ago  our  teachers  and  theological  schools  were 
full  of  the  warfare  between  science  and  religion,  but  better 
methods  have  reconciled  that  warfare.  Professorships  were 
founded  in  our  institutions  of  learning  for  that  purpose.  I 
think  I  may  say  that  to-day  this  conflict  is  over.  The  age  of 
the  world,  the  origin  of  the  earth,  the  manner  of  its  develop- 
ment, the  succession  of  living  organisms  on  its  surface,  the 
evolution  of  man,  the  history  of  the  Jews,  the  evidence  of 
miracles ;  these  are  questions  which  do  not  to-day  enter  into 
the  religion  of  educated  or  thoughtful  men ;  that  religion  is 
something,  as  it  seems  to  me,  deeper  and  more  divine. 

It  is  not  whether  the  mere  logical  minds  and  intellects  can 
grasp  and  correctly  formulate  certain  mysterious  propositions 
ranging  over  the  whole  field  of  metaphysics,  a  large  portion  of 
the  field  of  natural  science  and  a  not  inconsiderable  part  of 
the  field  of  history  of  the  human  race,  but  whether  the  will 
and  the  conscience  are  attuned  to  the  spirit  of  Jesus  Christ. 

The  third  change  which  I  notice  in  this  period  which  I  am 


67 

surveying  I  may  describe  as  the  development  of  the  Christian 
Church  away  from  sectarianism  and  towards  the  spirit  of 
world  religion.  A  generation  ago  or  certainly  two  generations 
ago  groups  of  men  took  sides  on  these  questions,  which,  as  I 
have  said,  are  for  us  fading  into  unimportance,  and  the  whole 
Christian  Church  was  split  up  into  sects  and  co-operation  be- 
tween them  was  almost  impossible,  and  a  spirit  often  very 
different  from  a  spirit  of  brotherly  love  prevailed  amongst 
them.  That  seems  to  me  to  be  disappearing.  The  different 
branches  of  the  church  are  coming  together.  They  can  co- 
operate in  the  common  educational,  philanthropic  and  often 
missionary  undertakings.  I  do  not  mean  that  differences  of 
religious  belief  are  destined  to  disappear.  Nations  differ  and 
individuals  differ  and  beliefs  are  an  expression  of  national  and 
personal  character,  and  we  may  therefore  fairly  assume  that 
differences  will  continue.  My  point  is  that  these  differences 
do  not  appear  as  large  as  they  did,  or  do  not  raise  up  between 
us  the  walls  or  partitions  they  did,  but  that  in  spite  of  them 
we  believe  the  things  we  have  in  common  are  infinitely  more 
important  than  the  things  in  which  we  differ.  The  things  in 
which  we  differ  may  be  not  only  of  personal  or  national  char- 
acter or  as  to  historical  circumstances,  but  as  we  understand 
the  reason  for  these  differences  they  thus  become  less  impor- 
tant in  our  eyes.  But  that  is  not  all  that  I  mean  by  this  third 
change  I  am  endeavoring  to  describe.  It  is  not  merely  that 
we  are  growing  big,  but  we  are  taking  our  religion  to  all  quar- 
ters of  the  globe  and  we  are  working  harmoniously  in  those 
missionary  fields.  Oh,  more  than  that,  we  are  coming  to  ap- 
preciate w'hat  is  good  in  the  religions  of  foreign  nations  and 
foreign  races.  Three  weeks  ago  I  invited  to  preach  at  Cornell 
University  the  Rev.  Dr.  Harada,  Japanese  Christian  and  Pro- 
fessor of  the  University  at  Kyoto.  It  was  one  of  the  most 
instructive  and  interesting  discourses  I  have  ever  heard.  His 
subject  was  "  The  National  Characteristics  of  the  Japanese, 
considered  as  Helps  and  Hindrances  to  the  Acceptance  of  the 
Christian  Religion."  He  said  that  the  great  mission  of  the 
Christian  religion  in  his  country  is  to  bring  into  life  the 
highest  ideals,  and  he  said,  "  If  you  conceive  of  Christianity 
as  the  religion  of  self-sacrifice,  then  if  the  cross  was  a  stum- 
bling block  to  the  Jews  and  foolishness  to  the  Greeks,  it  ap- 
pealed to  what  was  deepest  and  noblest  in  the  minds  and  hearts 
of  the  Japanese."  "  The  mission."  he  said.  "  the  great  mis- 
sion of  the  Christian  Church  in  my  country  is  to  quicken  into 
life  ideals  we  already  possess."    He  did  not  mean  to  say  that 


68 

it  would  do  nothing  else  for  the  Japanese,  but  on  the  contrary 
he  said  to  those  who  have  any  knowledge  of  the  personality 
of  the  Japanese  that  he  felt  it  might  be  the  mission  of  the 
Christian  religion  to  develop  a  deeper  sense  of  personality, 
personality  of  God  and  personality  of  man  and  thus  arouse  in 
them  a  deepening  sense  of  personality  and  growing  sense  also 
of  human  responsibility.  I  think  a  generation  or  two  ago  it 
would  have  been  almost  impossible  for  Christian  people  to 
sympathize  with  what  we  may  call  unity  in  Christian  missions, 
as  described  by  Dr.  Brown,  and  as  shown  here  to-day. 

May  I  go  further?  I  think  I  see  a  still  further  line  of 
development.  The  Christian  religion,  we  believe,  is  the  noblest 
of  all  religions.  It  is  the  only  religion  that  can  become  a 
world  religion,  but  my  belief  is,  and  it  is  founded  on  some 
observation  and  experience,  that  it  is  just  in  proportion  as  we 
carry  that  religion  to  foreign  nations  and  they  assimilate  it 
that  we  ourselves  get  a  new  insight  into  it.  In  other  words, 
we  shall  not  know  what  the  perfect  Christian  religion  is  until 
the  nations  of  the  world  have  heard  it  and  assimilated  it,  and 
the  perfect  Christian  religion  will  be  what  is  revealed  by  this 
universal  religious  life  of  mankind  in  that  distant  day,  or  per- 
haps not  distant  day  when  they  all  come  to  enjoy  its  blessings. 

Finally,  and  not  disconnected  with  what  I  have  already 
said,  I  think  we  are  laying  more  and  more  stress  on  the  re- 
ligion which  Christ  taught  and  of  which  his  own  life  was  the 
living  precept  and  embodiment.  He  did  not  perplex  men's 
minds  with  difficult  intellectual  problems ;  he  challenged  their 
laws ;  he  appealed  to  their  conscience ;  he  talked  of  right  and 
duty,  of  love,  of  devotion,  of  self-sacrifice ;  these  are  the  hard 
things  demanded  of  us,  but  I  think  more  and  more  as  the 
years  go  by  the  Christian  Church  is  coming  to  recognize  that 
these  are  the  essential  things  in  religion, — the  Christ-like  spirit, 
the  Christ-like  life  ;  and  wherever  we  find  these  things,  whether 
in  the  churches  or  out  of  the  churches,  whether  in  Christian 
lands  or  in  so-calied  heathen  lands,  we  shall  say,  "  There  is 
the  spirit  of  Christ."  Remember  what  he  himself  said,  "  Other 
sheep  I  have  which  are  not  of  this  fold." 

These  are  a  few  of  the  changes  which  I  have  felt  it  pro- 
per to  call  to  your  attention  at  this  time  in  connection  with 
this  great  celebration.  I  chose  this  subject,  because  as  I  said 
in  my  own  mind  the  Union  Theological  Seminary  stands  so 
pre-eminently  for  this  kind  of  work,  and  as  Dr.  William 
Adams  Brown  has  already  said,  "  The  Seminary  stands  not 
only   for  scholarship,  not  only  for  intellectual  life,  not  only 


69 

for  catholicity  of  spirit  but  for  a  practical  devotion  to  the 
service  of  mankind."  I  like  that  note ;  I  like  that  combination  ; 
that  rounds  up  all  the  supreme  things  of  man's  life. 

My  wish  for  Union  Seminary  and  for  its  members  now 
and  their  successive  generations  is  that  on  the  one  hand  they 
may  retain  the  intellectual  freedom  which  they  have  and  have 
so  conspicuously  shown,  retain  it  as  it  is  retained  by  scientists 
and  philosophers,  but  on  the  other  hand  that  they  combine 
with  it  as  they  have  already  combined  in  the  past  the  devotion 
which  characterizes  the  martyr  and  the  saint.  It  is  absolutely 
essential  that  these  two  things  be  combined  in  the  life  of  in- 
dividuals and  institutions  if  their  work  is  to  be  made  perma- 
nent, as  the  great  danger  of  all  living  institutions  and  of  all 
living  movements  is  in  the  lack  of  earnestness.  We  cannot  have 
listened  to  the  address  of  Dr.  Brown  without  feeling  that  thus 
far  this  institution  has  happily  escaped  that  danger. 

The  one  thing  needful  is  that  men  shall  become  better. 
This  however  is  an  individual  concern.  Consequently  it  is 
through  the  reform  and  improvement  of  indivduals  that  the 
religion  of  Christ  is  to  make  its  way  in  the  world.  Not  only 
is  the  progress  of  the  Christian  religion  effected  by  individuals, 
but  the  essential  work  of  that  religion  is  in  the  mind  and  soul 
of  the  individual.  Of  course  this  is  not  to  disparage  philan- 
thropic enterprises  for  improving  the  sanitation,  the  housing, 
or  other  environmental  conditions  of  the  poor.  And  indeed 
we  must  recognize  that  until  the  primal  physical  necessities 
are  reasonably  satisfied  it  is  almost  useless  to  try  to  improve 
the  moral  and  intellectual  conditions  of  the  individuals  who 
compose  the  mass.  Furthermore,  it  may  be  asserted  that  it 
is  the  duty  of  all  Christians  to  make  the  environment  and  ex- 
ternal conditions  of  the  poor  more  favorable  than  they  are  to- 
day. But  when  all  this  is  said  and  when  all  allowance  is  made 
for  other  qualifying  conditions,  the  fundamental  fact  re- 
mains that  the  Founder  of  the  Christian  religion  appealed 
to  the  heart  and  conscience  of  the  individual  man.  And  any 
interpretation  of  the  Christian  religion  which  ignores  this  all- 
essential  function  gives  us  the  body  without  the  soul  of  that 
religion. 


VI 

THE    ADDRESSES    AT   THE    ALUMNI 
MEETING 

1   The  Seminary's  New  Era,  by  the  Reverend  President 
Francis  Brown,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

1  The  Claim  of  the  Kingdom  upon  the  Seminary,  by  the 
Reverend  Henry  H.  Stebbins,  D.D. 

3  Our  Gospel,   by   the    Reverend    William   P.    Merrill, 

D.D. 

4  The    Christian    Missionary  and   his    Message    in   the 

Twentieth    Century,  by  the  Reverend  President 
Howard  S.  Bliss,  D.D. 


I. 

The  Seminary's    New  Era 

By  the  Reverend  President  Francis  Brown,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

Mr.  President  and  Members  of  the  Alumni  Association : 

You  will  all  agree  with  me  that  a  new  era  it  is.  We  are 
introduced  to  a  new  period  in  the  Seminary's  life.  It  is  not 
the  first  step  in  the  introduction  that  we  are  taking  to-day. 
If  the  Seminary  had  faltered  when  the  attack  came  twenty 
years  ago  there  could  have  been  no  new  era.  If  free  and 
reverent  scholarship  had  been  discouraged  there  would  have 
been  none.  If  that  "extreme  of  ecclesiastical  domination" 
against  which  our  founders  spoke  had  been  permitted  twenty 
years  ago,  there  would  have  been  none.  If  there  had  been  no 
enfranchisement  by  new  terms  of  subscription  the  new  era 
would  have  halted  and  lagged.  The  great  things  were  done  by 
the  insight  and  courage  of  the  men  just  back  of  us,  men  whom 
we  know,  men  of  whom  some  are  alive  still.  The  new  era 
was  bom  in  steadfast  bravery  and  spiritual  vision.  This  site, 
and  these  buildings  are  splendid,  and  their  worth  is  doubled  by 
the  fact  that  they  are  due,  primarily,  to  those  who  already 
had  expressed  their  vision  in  noble  testimony,  and  fought  the 
fight  with  courage.  But  these  buildings  launch  us  upon  a  new 
era  not  because  they  are  more  significant  than  the  intellectual 
and  spiritual  forces  which  have  been  working,  but  because 
they  give  these  forces  a  new  opportunity.  The  essential  forces 
are  primary.  The  new  equipment  gives  them  free  course. 
Because  of  both,  it  is,  indeed,  a  new  era  that  we  are  facing. 
And  what  do  we  see? 

I.  We  see  a  great  horizon.  It  is  hard  to  set  limits  to  it. 
I  pity  the  man,  who,  in  such  a  case,  does  not  reach  out, 
strongly,  into  the  unknown.  It  is  an  era  for  the  imagination. 
Great  pictures  of  the  future  take  shape.  Plans  almost  form 
themselves  without  straining  of  the  mind.  The  possibilities 
are  bewildering.  But  we  are  not  looking  with  flickering, 
feeble  gaze.  We  see  what  may  be  as  a  sculptor  sees  his 
statue  in  the  block,  and  as  the  architect  sees  the  cathedral  be- 

73 


74 

fore  stone  is  laid  upon  stone.  It  may  not  be  realized  quite  as 
we  see  it,  but  we,  all  of  us,  are  stirred  by  the  outlook  toward 
the  shaping  of  an  instrument  great  and  good,  for  the  world- 
wide service  of  God.  These  plans  do  not  stir  our  pride ;  their 
magnificence  has  something  awful  in  it,  which  sends  us  to  our 
knees.  Are  our  material  resources  adequate  to  their  fulfill- 
ment? Hardly,  yet.  Is  our  physical  strength  sufficient? 
Doubtless,  as  long  as  God  needs  us — and  then  the  next  relay 
of  men  will  come  on.  Is  our  mental  power  healthful  and 
competent?  We  have  not  already  attained  but  we  follow 
after,  if  that  we  may  apprehend.  Is  our  personal  influence  and 
moral  sensitiveness  and  spiritual  energy  ample  stock  for  our 
great  business  ?  These  are  questions  that  we  ask  ourselves. 
And  we  are  giving  no  self-confident  or  jaunty  answers.  We 
know  that  we  can  do  nothing,  as  we  ought  to  do  it,  without 
God. 

2.  It  must  be  therefore  an  era  of  faith.  We  cannot  go 
into  it  without  belief  in  the  realities — in  the  reality  of  God, 
in  the  revelation  through  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  forgiveness  of 
sins,  in  a  supreme  power  for  setting  wrong  things  right — 
to  the  last  stubbornness  of  heart,  the  lowest  depth  of  infamy, 
the  very  end  of  the  world — in  the  real  triumph  of  righteous- 
ness. We  need  faith  in  our  opportunity — no  prostrating  fear 
of  it — expectancy,  in  every  aspect  of  it,  because  God  gives  it 
to  us.  We  need  faith  in  the  message  of  Jesus,  which  is  our 
gospel ;  in  the  worth  of  his  character,  and  the  essential  neces- 
sity of  his  salvation ; — in  the  conquest  of  self,  and  the  repro- 
duction of  his  life,  in  its  simplest  elements,  under  the  greatest 
variety  of  conditions  and  circumstances, — in  the  possibilities 
germinating  in  ourselves  and  our  neighbours,  which  hold  the 
promise  of  a  redeemed  world,  and  make  it  both  desirable  and 
certain  that  human  life  shall  at  length  be  filled  with  the  divine, 
and  controlled  by  it. 

3.  It  must  be  an  era  of  efficiency.  Dreamers  may  still 
have  their  part  to  play,  but  it  must  be  to  inspire  the  doers. 
Idle  dreams  are  ignoble.  It  is  the  patient,  faithful,  efficient 
doers  of  the  work  that  justify  bold  dreams.  We  must  train 
men  to  master  the  technique  of  their  art.  It  cannot  be  done 
by  simply  applying  high  pressure  to  the  spiritual  life.  Patient, 
quiet,  steadfast  work,  in  study  and  practice,  is  the  channel 
of  expression  for  real  spiritual  life,  and  no  mean  one,  when 
it  signifies  knowing  your  business.  You  want  men  who  can 
do  things,  and  we  want  to  produce  them,  but  the  process  can- 
not be  hurried,  and  it  takes  concentration  of  purpose  and  long. 


75 

hard  work.  The  reason  why  some  ministers  are  inefficient  is 
that  many  ministers  have  too  low  a  conception  of  efficiency, 
and  know  too  Httle  how  efficiency  can  be  attained.  You, 
who  know,  will  not  blame  us  for  trying  to  make  our  training 
mentally  severe.     It  is  the  condition  of  efficiency. 

No  doubt  some  things  are  more  important  than  others.  We 
are  constantly  revising  our  judgment  of  values,  and  acting 
accordingly.  I  should  like  to  set  before  you,  if  there  were 
time,  our  present  view  of  a  curriculum  in  theology,  under  the 
three  rubrics  of  the  essential  gospel,  the  situation  in  the  world 
which  needs  the  gospel,  and  the  means  by  which  the  gospel 
may  be  brought  home  to  the  world.  Think  these  subjects 
through  and  see  if  your  thought  of  training  for  the  ministry 
does  not  gain  unity  and  insistence.  This  great  establishment 
must  be  put  to  the  largest  and  most  intelligent  use  for  the 
Kingdom  of  God.  We  ask  you  to  encourage  us  in  making  our 
new  era  an  era  of  efficiency. 

4.  It  is  an  era  of  fellowship.  We  want  fellowship  with 
all  Christians,  and  with  all  earnest  people  who  are  not  Chris- 
tians, in  their  work  for  righteousness,  as  far  as  they  will  let 
us  have  it.  "  He  that  is  not  against  us  is  on  our  part."  Our 
business  is  too  high  for  rivalry.  We  seek  fellowship  and 
sympathy  on  all  hands,  and  especially  with  all  with  whom 
Christ  holds  fellowship,  or  would  have,  if  they  would  permit 
it.  We  have  no  hostilities  or  bitternesses  or  grudges  to  cher- 
ish— as  far  as  we  understand  ourselves.  We  may  have  pre- 
judices but  we  hope  they  are  like  "  that  salutary  prejudice 
known  as  love  of  country  "' — salutary  prejudices  known  as 
love  of  the  Seminary,  and  what  we  think  to  be  the  truth,  and 
love  of  liberty,  and  love  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  desire  to  be  like 
him,  and  to  see  a  world  of  people  like  him.  If  we  have 
meaner  prejudices  we  are  not  proud  of  them.  This  is  the 
kind  we  wish  to  have.  But  these  do  not  destroy  our  sense 
of  fellowship — in  which  small  party  names  and  sectarian  dis- 
tinctions are  merged  and  lost — it  gives  our  fellowship  value 
and  fulness. 

Your  fellowship,  who  have  now  come  here,  must  be  with 
each  other,  and  with  us  whose  duty  is  here,  and  our  fellow- 
ship must  be  with  each  other  and  with  you.  We  can  do 
great  things  by  helping  each  other  and  holding  together.  But 
true  fellowship  is  not  at  all  content  with  the  like-minded  and 
congenial.  Christianity  is  weighed  twenty  times  a  day  against 
other  religions,  old  and  new.  We  shall  honor  them  all  for 
whatever  they  do  to  lift  men  towards  righteousness  and  God. 


76 

And  if  anyone  of  them  proclaims  as  its  essence  the  obHgation 
of  each  man  to  share  the  richness  of  his  life  and  not  to  hoard 
it,  and  lives  this  out  in  the  simple  strength  of  God,  by  the 
practice  of  men's  days,  busy  and  hard  beset,  it  is  Christ's  re- 
ligion, under  another  name,  in  its  unalloyed  product.  The 
only  advantage  that  Christianity  then  has  lies  in  a  broader  and 
deeper  practice  of  fellowship  with  God  and  man,  giving  one- 
self loyally  to  them  both,  as  Jesus  Christ  did  and  does  for- 
evermore.  We  shall  never  be  afraid  of  any  religion's  seem- 
ing too  much  like  that  of  Christ  when  we  are  once  convinced 
that  the  world  of  people  will  have  entered  the  divine  fellow- 
ship, with  knowledge,  heart  and  purpose  all  together — when 
every  religion  is  made  entirely  Christian,  after  Christ's  man- 
ner, and  the  world  has  grown  a  brotherhood,  in  rich  exchange 
of  the  earthly  gifts  and  treasures  of  the  soul — to  the  glory  of 
God.  the  Father. 

The  Seminary  lives  in  its  alumni.  It  is  strengthened, 
more  than  you  know,  by  your  presence  here,  and  your  gener- 
ous loyalty.  If  you  were  not  full  of  large  plans  for  God, 
and  great  faith,  and  efficiency,  and  the  spirit  of  fellowship,  the 
Seminary  would  be  an  empty  name.  Help  us,  brothers,  to 
make  it  more  than  an  empty  name.  Help  us,  by  your  own 
ardent  service  of  Christ  and  his  kingdom,  to  realize  the  possi- 
bilities of  the  new  era — to  train  new  generations  even  better 
than  you  were  trained,  to  bear  testimony  to  the  heroic  life,  to 
take  our  share  in  the  divine  conquest  of  the  world. 


2. 

The   Claim   of  the   Kingdom  upon  the  Seminary 

By  the  Reverend  Henry  H.  Stebbins,  D.D. 

Mr.  President  of  the  Alumni,  Mr.  President  of  the  Fac- 
ulty, undergraduate  students  and  fellow  Alumni  of  this  dear 
Seminary  that  is  exciting  so  many  delightful  and  hallowed 
memories  and  that  is  inspiring  so  many  Alumni  to  unprece- 
dented hopes : 

The  claim  of  the  Kingdom  upon  the  Seminary  is,  as  I  at 
least  conceive  it,  that  the  Seminary  should  interpret  the  King- 
dom of  God  as  revealed  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  of 


77 

the  Word  of  God  and  should  train  all  applicants  for  the  service 
of  the  King. 

To  such  end  the  Kingdom  would  venture  to  submit  the 
four  cardinal  points  of  a  compass,  as  it  were,  whereby  the 
Seminary  may  steer  her  course  to  the  desired  heaven. 

1.  The  first  cardinal  point  is  the  Seminary  herself. 

The  Kingdom  recognizes  the  Seminary  as  the  institution, 
above  all  others,  that  should  unfold  the  Kingdom  in  all  its 
bearings,  whether  the  Kingdom  that  cometh  within,  the  King- 
dom that  cometh  not  with  observation,  or  the  Kingdom  visible. 

The  Kingdom  reminds  us  that,  humanly  speaking,  the  Sem- 
inary is  the  supreme  resource  of  the  Church ;  that  the  Church 
looks  to  the  Seminary  to  turn  out  ministers  thoroughly  fur- 
nished to  go  into  all  the  world,  near  or  distant,  and  to  preach 
the  Gospel  of  the  Kingdom  to  every  creature. 

The  Kingdom  claims  that  the  Seminary  should  be  the  re- 
pository of  all  possible  information  about  the  Kingdom,  in- 
formation concerning  its  nature,  its  scope,  its  subjects,  its 
present  day  demands,  its  prospects  and  its  consummation  in 
heart  and  life,  in  the  individual,  in  society,  in  the  state,  in  the 
world,  to  the  end  that  God's  Kingdom  may  fully  come  in  the 
doing  of  his  will  on  earth  as  it  is  done  in  heaven. 

Further,  the  Kingdom  claims  that  the  teaching  force  of  the 
Seminar)^  should  be  second  to  none,  either  as  to  acquisition 
or  ability  to  impart,  and  in  popular  fashion  a  force  that  should 
teach  with  authority  and  not  as  the  scribes. 

The  Kingdom  claims  that  the  Seminary  should  blaze  the 
way,  should  take  the  initiative,  should,  under  the  impulse  of  a 
faith  that  is  the  substance  of  things  hoped  for,  the  evidence 
of  things  not  seen,  anticipate  the  demand  as  commerce  antici- 
pates the  market,  so  that  as  the  servants  of  the  King  go  about 
their  appointed  work,  they  may  stab  wide  awake  the  social 
consciousness  and  the  social  conscience  of  those  with  whom 
they  have  to  do,  thereby  attracting  in  growing  numbers  those 
who  shall  spend  and  be  spent  in  the  active,  practical  propaga- 
tion of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  on  earth,  who  shall  discern 
readily  any  given  environment,  who  shall  be  instant  in  season, 
out  of  season,  in  knowing  what  is  to  be  done  and  how  to  do  it 
most  feasibly  and  permanently,  and  who,  in  a  word,  shall  in- 
cite to  a  militant  altruism  in  the  service  of  the  King. 

2.  The  second  cardinal  point  in  the  proposed  compass  is 
the  federated  church. 

While  the  Kingdom  would  have  the  Seminary  recognize 
herself  as,  providentially,  the  first  of  institutions  for  meeting 


78 

the  demands  of  the  Kingdom,  it  would  have  her  recognize  the 
Church  as  the  supreme  instrumentality,  humanly  speaking,  for 
the  promotion  of  the  Kingdom,  not,  however,  by  any  means, 
to  the  exclusion  of  other  agencies,  but  to  their  distinct  subor- 
dination. 

There  is  vital  reason,  the  Kingdom  contends,  for  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel  of  the  Kingdom,  the  preaching,  backed 
by  the  authority  of  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord." 

The  Kingdom  claims  that  it  springs  directly  from  the 
bosom  of  religion,  in  distinction  from  mere  philanthropy  or 
humanitarianism ;  that  it  inculcates,  first  of  all,  the  most  com- 
prehensive love  to  God,  and  along  with  that  and  separable 
from  it,  love  to  man,  and  that  the  Church  is  the  obvious  means 
to  that  end. 

The  Kingdom  sees  the  Church  as  the  exponent  of  the 
Christianity  of  Christ,  as  His  divinely  designed  successor,  and 
that  accordingly  she  is  true  to  the  fullness  of  her  mission  only 
as  she  looks  at  the  world  as  Jesus  looked  at  it  and  stands,  in 
relation  to  men,  as  Jesus  did,  and  ministers  as  Jesus  did  to  the 
manifold  ills  and  limitations  of  human  life. 

And  the  Kingdom  appeals  to  the  New  Testament,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  Old  Testament,  which  abounds  in  teaching  and 
injunction  about  the  Kingdom,  for  overwhelming  evidence  in 
corroboration  of  its  claim  as  to  the  primacy  of  the  Church  as 
the  instrumentality  for  the  diffusion  of  the  laws  of  the  King- 
dom, in  their  manifold  application  to  the  individual  and  to 
society. 

In  this  connection  the  Kingdom  congratulates  the  Church 
upon  the  following  resolution  adopted  by  the  Presbytery  of 
New  York : 

"  Resolved,  that  we  recognize  the  gospel  of  Christ  as  the 
supreme  remedy  for  every  form  of  evil,  and  the  church  of 
Christ  as  the  agency  by  which  the  world  is  to  be  regenerated 
and  saved,  and,  therefore,  we  believe  that  the  moral  teachings 
of  Christ  must  be  applied  to  every  sphere  of  life,  and  that  the 
church  should  bear  her  testimony  for  righteousness  and  purity 
in  all  human  affairs." 

So  with  renewed  assurance  the  Kingdom  maintains  that 
the  Church  needs  to  be  exploited,  that  she  needs  to  come  to 
her  own,  needs  to  be  stimulated  to  make  her  calling  and  elec- 
tion sure  in  the  world  realm  of  social  service;  that  she  needs 
to  be  socialized,  and  to  become  a  radiating  social  center,  ex- 
emplifying brotherly  love,  a  love  aiming  to  fulfill  every  jot 
and  everv  tittle  of  the  laws  of  service  and  sacrifice. 


79 

And  it  is  the  Church  as  such  which  the  Kingdom  has  in 
view,  the  church  in  the  country,  as  well  as  in  the  City,  the 
church  in  foreign  parts  as  well  as  in  the  homeland. 

Indeed,  the  Kingdom  points  with  pride  to  the  vastly  broad- 
ened scope  of  missions.  At  first,  as  we  are  reminded,  the  mis- 
sionary's equipment,  aside  from  a  consecrated  heart,  consisted 
of  a  Bible  and  a  sun  hat,  or,  as  a  little  girl  is  reported  to  have 
conceived  it :  A  man  standing  under  a  tree  and  reading  the 
Bible  to  everybody  who  passed  by. 

Witness  now,  is  the  challenge  of  the  Kingdom,  witness 
now,  by  contrast,  the  school,  the  college,  all  that  is  compre- 
hended under  medical  missions,  and  all  that  is  signified  by 
industrial  missions,  to  say  nothing  of  the  wonders  of  the  print- 
ing press  and  the  fruits  of  Christian  Sociology. 

The  Kingdom  points  to  the  following  list  of  things  with 
which  a  missionary  is  about  to  sail  to  Africa :  A  turbine  wheel, 
a  saw-mill  with  planer  and  jointer,  mortising  machine,  etc.,  a 
traction  or  motor  engine  and  gang  plow,  a  reaper  and  binder, 
a  thresher,  two  horse  seed  drills,  appliances  for  a  school  of 
agriculture,  school  supplies  and  a  hospital  outfit. 

Moreover,  and  in  the  same  connection,  the  Kingdom  re- 
minds us  that  to  the  peoples  who  on  earth  do  dwell  there  were 
never  so  many  open  doors  as  to-day.  Indeed,  missionaries 
report  that  doors  have  been  taken  from  their  hinges.  Not 
from  Macedonia  alone,  but  from  every  quarter,  the  cry  is 
heard,  "  Come  over  and  help  us,"  which  cry,  being  interpreted, 
is  a  cry  for  the  blessings  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  in  the 
interest  of  which  Jesus  Christ  came  to  the  Kingdom  of  Earth. 

Still  further,  never  have  the  peoples  of  the  earth  been  so 
well  understood  as  they  are  to-day,  and  never  so  responsive. 

Such  is  the  plea  of  the  Kingdom,  and  the  Kingdom  sub- 
mits that  the  citizens  of  the  Kingdom  are  bound  to  hear  and 
heed  that  cry  or  they  are  recreant  to  the  will  of  their  King. 

The  Kingdom,  while  making  careful  and  grateful  record 
of  the  fact  that  the  supporters,  by  word  and  deed,  of  social 
service  are  to  a  great  extent  connected  with  the  Church,  and 
while  delighting  in  the  institutional  church,  as  a  progressive 
approach  to  the  desired  goal,  yet  urges  the  Church  to  identify 
herself  more  prominently  and  intimately  with  the  many-sided 
service  of  the  Kingdom,  and  to  embosom  it  in  her  working 
creed  that  she  is  the  pre-eminent  means  for  the  promulgation 
and  expansion  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  on  earth. 

The  Kingdom  would  emphasize  the  Church  of  it  in  distinc- 
tion from  the  churches.     For  the  Kingdom  does  not  recognize 


80 

churches,  it  recognizes  but  one  Church,  the  holy  Catholic 
Church.  Consequently  the  Kingdom  stands  for  the  speediest 
possible  federation  or  unification,  organic  or  spiritual,  or  com- 
bination, call  it  what  we  will,  of  all  the  churches  of  God,  only, 
pleads  the  Kingdom,  let  it  be  in  fulfillment  of  Jesus'  prayer  of 
intercession : 

"  That  they  all  may  be  one ;  as  thou.  Father,  are  in  me,  and 
I  in  thee,  that  they  also  may  be  one  in  us :  that  the  world  may 
believe  that  thou  hast  sent  me." 

And,  inasmuch  as  citizenship  in  the  Kingdom  is  more  in- 
clusive than  membership  in  the  Church,  the  Kingdom  would 
have  the  Seminary  take  into  account,  in  this  connection,  all 
who,  in  the  Church  or  outside  the  Church,  are  cultivating 
pure  and  undefiled  religion,  all  who  aim  to  fulfill  God's  re- 
quirement to  do  justly,  to  love  mercy,  and  to  walk  humbly 
with  their  God,  all  who  are  living  righteously,  soberly  and 
godly  in  this  present  evil  world,  and  who  would  join  the  forces 
of  those  disposed  to  labor  for  the  universal  prevalence  of 
whatsoever  things  are  true  and  honest  and  just  and  pure  and 
lovely  and  of  good  report. 

3.  The  third  cardinal  point  in  the  proposed  compass  is 
the  Bible. 

The  Kingdom  insists  that  the  Book  of  books  in  the  cur- 
riculum of  the  Seminary,  so  far  as  such  curriculum  has  to  do 
with  the  Kingdom,  should  be  the  Bible,  the  English  Bible, 
and  that  it  should  be  handled  in  such  masterful  fashion  as 
to  make  it  quick  and  powerful,  sharper  than  any  two-edged 
sword. 

The  Kingdom  holds  that  there  is  no  consistent  theory  or 
application  of  the  Kingdom  apart  from  the  Bible,  and  that 
the  worthiest  treatises  on  the  Kingdom  have  been  consciously 
or  unconsciously,  the  echo  of  what  the  Bible  declares  and 
illustrates. 

The  Kingdom  affirms  that  there  is  no  phase  of  itself,  that 
there  is  no  social  law  worth  while  and  no  line  of  social  serv- 
ice, whether  having  to  do  with  the  child  or  the  adult,  with 
body  or  mind  or  heart,  with  the  family  or  the  city  or  the 
state,  or  with  industrial  life  or  with  politics,  or  education,  or 
crime,  or  with  defective  and  dependent  life,  or  outcasts,  or 
with  hospitals  or  any  of  the  institutions  of  philanthropy  or 
with  settlements,  that  is  not  anticipated  and  fundamentally 
provided  for  by  the  glorious  Gospel  of  the  blessed  God. 

And  the  Kingdom  imposes  upon  the  Seminary  the  task 
of  coupling  with  every  department  of  social  service,  the  law, 


^.liL'Ji.ri  ill 


ai!*: 


81 

or  the  principle,  or  the  precept,  or  the  sentiment  contained  in 
the  book  of  final  authority. 

4.  The  fourth  cardinal  point  of  the  compass  the  King- 
dom would  command  to  the  Seminary  is  the  Christ. 

The  Kingdom  would  have  the  Seminary,  in  its  relation  to 
social  service,  exalt  the  personality  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  would 
have  the  Seminary  hail  Him  as  King  and  give  Him  the  glory 
due  unto  His  name. 

The  Kingdom  would  have  the  Seminary  discriminate  be- 
tween the  King  and  the  Kingdom,  as  between  Christ  and 
Christianity,  so  keeping  the  personal  life  more  than  the  im- 
personal instrumentality,  before  the  reverent  eye  and  the 
grateful,  loyal  and  affectionate  heart  of  every  citizen  of  the 
Kingdom. 

The  Kingdom  would  have  the  Seminary  behold  in  Christ 
the  Teacher  come  from  God,  the  chief  among  the  ten  thou- 
sand who  throughout  the  ages,  have  thought  or  spoken  or  writ- 
ten upon  the  problematic,  yet  fascinating  theme  of  the  King- 
dom. It  would  have  the  sociology  taught  at  the  Seminary  not 
merely  Christianized,  but  shot  through  and  through  with  the 
personality  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Honor  to  whom  honor  is  due,  pleads  the  Kingdom.  Let 
the  name  of  Jesus  stand  above  every  name,  as  the  prince  of 
authorities  on  the  subject  so  vital  and  of  such  world-wide 
significance. 

The  Kingdom  recalls  the  following  sentiment  from  Pro- 
fessor Peabody  of  Cambridge: 

"  In  a  great  orchestra,  with  all  its  varied  ways  of  musical 
expression,  there  is  one  person  who  performs  on  no  instrument 
whatever,  but  in  whom,  none  the  less,  the  whole  control  of 
harmony  and  rythm  resides. 

"  Until  the  leader  comes  the  discordant  sounds  go  their 
various  ways;  but  at  his  sign  the  tuning  of  the  instruments 
ceases  and  the  symphony  begins. 

"  So  it  is  with  spiritual  leadership  of  Jesus  Christ.  Among 
the  conflicting  activities  of  the  present  time.  His  power  is  not 
that  of  one  more  active  among  the  rest,  but  that  of  wisdom, 
personality,  idealism. 

"  Into  the  midst  of  the  discordant  efforts  of  men  He  comes 
as  one  having  authority;  the  self-assertion  of  each  instru- 
ment of  social  service  is  hushed  as  He  gives  His  sign ;  and  in 
the  surrender  of  each  life  to  Him,  it  finds  its  place  in  the 
symphony  of  all." 

The  Kingdom  would  have  the  Seminary  widen  its  doors 


82 

and  keep  them  wide  open  day  and  night  for  all  classes  and 
grades  of  workers,  for  candidates  for  the  ministry  in  the 
technical  sense,  for  church  officials,  for  Sunday  school  teach- 
ers, for  members  of  Men's  Guilds  and  Brotherhoods,  of 
Missionary  Societies,  of  the  Young  People's  Society,  of  Chris- 
tian Endeavor,  and  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion; for  members  of  the  church,  for  non-ecclesiastical  Chris- 
tians,— for  the  "  children  of  the  unwritten  gospel,"  as  Dr. 
Matheson  calls  them,  for  college  graduates,  for  philanthropists 
of  wealth,  for  merchant  princes,  in  a  word,  for  any  and  all 
who  would  be  fitted  for  the  most  effective  social  service  in 
the  name  of  Him  who  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto  but 
to  minister. 

Of  course  such  a  policy  would  make  the  Seminary  co- 
educational. And  there  should  be  shorter  as  well  as  longer 
courses.  Just  as  at  Cornell  University  there  are  courses  of 
twelve  weeks  in  poultry-raising,  horticulture,  dairying  and 
general  agriculture,  so  the  Seminary  should  afford  brief 
courses  of  study,  according  to  the  wishes  or  the  necessities  of 
the  students. 

The  Seminary  should  provide  a  wide  range  of  electives, 
or  homogeneous  groups  of  subjects  in  line  with  the  foremost 
demands  of  the  times ;  she  should  provide  for  night  classes 
and  for  a  summer  course;  she  should  require,  not  leave  it 
optional,  of  every  student,  a  course  in  Christian  sociology  and 
should  permeate  with  such  course  the  whole  period  of  study 
from  start  to  finish. 

In  short,  the  Seminary  should  be  perennially  open  for  all 
seeking  instruction  under  its  guidance,  and  should  be  manned, 
yes  and  womaned,  if  need  be  (and  the  Kingdom  anticipates 
that  there  will  be  the  need),  so  that  the  burden  of  instruction 
would  not  be  heavier  than  could  be  borne  consistently.  Such 
is  the  insistence  of  the  Kingdom. 

"  A  new  departure,  all  this,"  the  Kingdom  anticipates  the 
Seminary  as  exclaiming.  "  Yes,"  replies  the  Kingdom,  "  yet 
it  is  but  one  of  numerous  new  departures  necessitated  by  the 
exacting  law  of  adjustment  to  existing  or  prospective  condi- 
tions." 

The  Kingdom  is  swift  to  assure  the  Seminary  that  the 
proposed  enlargement  of  her  sphere  does  not  involve  the  sur- 
render or  the  curtailment  of  her  present  curriculum. 

The  Kingdom  is  grateful  for  the  apparent  fact  that  in  a 
considerable  percentage  of  the  Seminaries  of  the  United  States 
provision  is  made  for  more  or  less,  less  rather  than  more. 


83 

it  would  seem,  of  training  along  social  service  lines,  thus  fac- 
ing, measurably  at  least,  the  responsibility  that  is  upon  them 
and  welcoming  with  diminishing  timidity  the  opportunity  to 
meet  such  responsibility. 

And,  again,  the  Kingdom,  while  impatient  of  delay,  would 
concede  the  necessity  of  patience  and  a  judicious  conservatism. 
At  the  same  time  the  Kingdom  would  spur  the  Seminary  to 
quicken  its  pace  because  of  the  larger,  clearer  vision  the 
Church  is  gaining  of  the  Kingdom,  as  shown  by  her  parish 
houses,  her  institutes,  her  missions,  her  settlements,  and  in 
general  by  the  institutional  character  she  is  making  for  men 
of  God,  men  who,  as  pastors,  will  take  into  account  the  whole 
man  and  not  merely  the  soul,  who  will  aim  to  win  to  Christ 
not  the  individual  only,  but  society  as  well,  and  who,  in  a 
word,  will  help  to  extend  the  Kingdom  in  all  its  length  and 
breadth  and  height  and  depth. 

My  fancy  pictures  a  Seminary  modeled  after  the  Gospel 
plan :  a  Seminary  obedient  to  the  heavenly  vision  of  her  obliga- 
tion and  her  corresponding  opportunity;  a  Seminary  steering 
her  course  of  conquest  according  to  the  compass  whose  four 
cardinal  points  are :  the  Seminary  herself  as  the  institution 
above  all  others  for  the  training  of  competent  workers ;  the 
federated  Church  as  the  instrumentality  above  every  other 
for  the  world-wide  proclamation  and  extension  of  the  King- 
dom ;  the  Bible  as  the  basic  authority  of  all  teaching  with 
reference  to  the  Kingdom,  and  the  Christ  as  the  basic  per- 
sonality of  the  Kingdom,  King  of  Kings  and  Lord  of  Lords, 
worthy  to  receive  power  and  riches  and  wisdom  and  strength 
and  honor  and  glory  and  blessing;  a  Seminary  undenomina- 
tional, a  Seminary  with  twelve  gates,  on  the  east  three  gates, 
on  the  north  three  gates,  on  the  south  three  gates  and  on  the 
west  three  gates ;  a  Seminary  dedicated  to  the  training  of  all 
who  would  preach,  practice  and  propagate  the  gospel  of  the 
Kingdom  in  the  name  of  Him  who  came  to  seek  and  to  save 
that  which  was  lost ;  a  Seminary  that  should  be  the  chief  re- 
pository of  the  history,  the  literature,  and  all  current  facts 
respecting  the  Kingdom ;  a  Seminary  so  munificently  endowed 
that  the  administrators  of  her  affairs  would  take  no  anxious 
thought  as  to  ways  and  means ;  a  Seminary  that  should  be  the 
pride,  the  joy,  the  inspiration  of  the  Church  which  Jesus 
Christ  loved  and  for  which  he  gave  himself,  that  he  might 
present  it  unto  himself  a  glorious  Church,  not  having  spot  or 
wrinkle  or  any  such  thing,  but  that  it  should  be  holy  and  with- 
out blemish;  and  lastly,  a  Seminary  which   should  no  more 


84 

be  called  a  Theological  Seminary,  but  a  Theological  Uni- 
versity. 

However  wide  the  chasm  between  fancy  and  fact  in  re- 
lation to  the  Seminary,  may  be  to-day,  I  confess  that,  as  I  go 
round  about  this  ally  and  resource  of  our  beloved  Zion,  that 
as  I  tell  the  graceful  and  symbolic  towers  thereof,  the  towers 
that  are  and  the  towers  that  are  to  be;  that  as  I  mark  well 
her  bulwarks  of  tradition,  of  affectionate  and  enriching  per- 
sonality both  in  professor  and  in  student,  and  of  her  world- 
wide and  ineffaceable  influence;  and  that  as  I  consider  her 
palaces  of  equipment  in  contrast  to  what  used  to  be ;  I  see 
the  chasm  between  fancy  and  fact  bridged  by  this  institution 
whose  new  buildings  we  dedicate  on  these  days  of  grace,  the 
twenty-seventh,  the  twenty-eight  and  the  twenty-ninth  days 
of  November,  in  this  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  nine 
hundred  and  ten. 

Who  knoweth  whether  the  Union  Theological  Seminary  is 
come  to  the  Kingdom  for  such  a  time  as  this  ? 

So  let  it  be,  so  far  as  it  is  according  to  the  will  of  Him 
who  taught  us,  when  we  pray,  to  say :  "  Thy  Kingdom  come." 


Our    Gospel 
By  the  Reverend  William  P.  Merrill,  D.D. 

Mr.  President  and  Brothers  of  the  Alumni: 

In  presenting  this  theme  I  am  not  thinking  so  much  of  the 
Seminary  and  the  place  it  should  take  as  of  us  who  are  Alumni 
of  the  Seminary  and  the  place  we  should  take  and  the  Gospel 
that  we  should  preach  as  representatives  of  that  Christian 
thought  and  love  for  which  this  Seminary  stands. 

The  word  "  our  "  is  intended  to  include  all  those  in  the 
ministry  of  the  church,  teachers  or  preachers,  who  frankly 
adopt  the  modern  point  of  view  in  religion.  One  of  the  main 
characteristics,  perhaps  the  chief  distinction  of  this  Seminary, 
in  whose  stately  new  home  we  rejoice  to-day,  is  that  with  few 
exceptions,  her  graduates  are  men  who  welcome  reconstruc- 
tion in  religion.  Most  of  us  are  grateful  to  our  Seminary  most 
of  all  for  breaking  for  us  the  shell  of  tradition,  and  letting  us 
into  life.     Some  years  ago  Dr.  Francis  Brown  remarked  that 


85 

there  are  two  classes  of  theologians,  "  those  who  think  they 
know  enough,  and  those  who  want  to  know  more."  When  I 
speak  of  "  our  "  Gospel,  I  am  thinking  of  "  those  who  want 
to  know  more,"  those  who  are  loyal  to  the  critical  and  histor- 
ical method,  accept  the  well-assured  results  of  that  method, 
adopt  the  principle  of  evolution  as  at  least  an  indispensable 
hypothesis  for  men  who  would  think  in  harmony  with  the 
science  of  our  age,  refuse  to  believe  in  a  world  of  enchant- 
ment outside  the  world  of  experience,  and  will  not  admit  that 
any  doctrine  of  the  church  whatsoever  has  found  its  final  state- 
ment. 

Speaking  to  and  for  such  men,  I  declare  my  conviction 
that  the  great  religious  need  of  to-day  is  that  we  should  have 
a  Gospel ;  that  our  worst  weakness  is  the  lack  of  a  Gospel ; 
that  our  greatest  and  most  immediate  duty  is  to  find  and  pro- 
claim our  Gospel. 

What  do  I  mean  by  a  Gospel  ?  I  mean  a  message  that  can 
not  only  hold  its  self-respect  in  the  light  of  scientific  thinking, 
but  can  prove  itself  a  "  power  of  God  unto  salvation."  I  mean 
a  message  that  can  rebuke,  convict,  and  redeem  a  sinner ;  bring 
real  comfort  to  a  soul  in  sorrow ;  give  assurance  of  hope  in 
the  face  of  death ;  put  conquering  strength  into  the  tempted ; 
and  in  short  prove  a  practical  power  for  human  living. 

Such  a  Gospel  the  religious  world  demands  of  us.  So  far 
we  have  been  concerned  too  exclusively  with  critical  and  the- 
ological reconstruction.  We  were  fighting  in  self-defense; 
there  was  no  time  for  building  houses  or  planting  vineyards. 
Moreover  the  critical  and  theological  investigation  was  a  pre- 
requisite of  a  clear  Gospel  message.  But  now  the  right  to 
think  the  thoughts  of  to-day  and  stay  inside  the  church  is  won. 
It  is  time  we  are  taking  our  critical  and  theological  reconstruc- 
tion for  granted,  and  going  on  to  develop  and  proclaim  the 
Gospel  which  alone  can  justify  us  in  the  eyes  of  the  world. 

For  the  world  is  a  pragmatist  in  its  taste.  We  can  demon- 
strate— I  think  we  have  demonstrated — that  our  view  of  the 
Bible  and  of  doctrine  is  truer  and  worthier  than  the  old  view. 
But  this  world  looks  for  fruits.  If  we  get  and  show  for  our 
painful  and  disturbing  efforts  no  added  power  to  comfort, 
strengthen,  and  save,  no  new  vital  message,  no  new  tone  of 
authority  in  proclaiming  the  old  message,  the  world  will  con- 
tinue to  think  of  us  as  needless  troublers  of  Israel.  And  the 
world  will  be  right.  The  final  test  of  what  is  taught  in  the 
Theological  Seminaries  is  not  its  intellectual  or  ethical  sound- 
ness, but  the  Gospel  it  inspires  you  and  me  to  preach.     The 


86 

final  test  of  your  ministry  and  mine  is  its  redeeming  power  in 
human  life. 

But  a  positive  Gospel  is  demanded  of  us  not  only  that  we 
may  justify  ourselves,  but  as  well  that  we  may  fulfill  our  mis- 
sion. The  world  to-day  needs  a  Gospel  which  only  we,  of  the 
progressive  wing  of  the  church,  can  give. 

Of  course  what  is  needed  is  not  a  new  Gospel  at  all,  but 
a  new  setting  of  the  everlasting  Gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  We  are  all  agreed  upon  that.  We  are  not  moving 
away  from  Christ ;  nor  are  we  even  going  back  to  Christ ;  we 
are  moving  on  with  Christ.  We  have  gone  back  to  Him  in 
our  critical  and  theological  studies,  only  that  we  may  know 
Him  better,  and  so  follow  Him  more  closely.  But  the  world 
needs  a  new  setting  of  His  Gospel  and  a  new  vigor  in  pro- 
claiming it ;  and  we  must  meet  that  need  or  it  will  not  be  met. 
For  only  the  men  of  modern  viewpoint  have  the  thought- 
foundation  and  the  point  of  contact  necessary  for  the  procla- 
mation of  an  effective  Gospel. 

I  need  spend  no  time  trying  to  make  evident  the  painfully 
clear  fact  that  we  are  living  in  a  new  world.  There  is  a  social 
consciousness,  a  world-view,  a  craving  for  unity,  an  inde- 
pendence of  thought  and  action,  an  industrial  massing,  that 
demands  a  new  saving  power,  a  new  outbreaking  of  the  Gos- 
pel ;  and  how  can  we  face  this  modem  world,  needing  so  pain- 
fully a  religion  fitted  to  it,  and  then  look  back  over  our  train- 
ing in  fearless  searching  of  the  Bible,  in  open-minded  desire 
for  facts,  in  broad  human  interest,  and  not  recognize  the  hand 
of  God  upon  our  spirits  and  the  voice  of  God  in  our  hearts, 
summoning  us  to  give  the  world  a  Gospel  which  we  do  not 
hesitate  to  speak  of  as  ours,  just  as  Paul  spoke  of  "  our  Gos- 
pel," "  my  Gospel." 

There  are  many  indications  that  the  sense  of  need  of  a 
Gospel  has  been  growing  acute  in  the  hearts  of  progressive 
men  through  the  past  few  years.  Not  long  ago,  in  a  meeting 
of  liberal  men,  something  was  said  about  "  saving  souls,"  and 
one  of  the  leaders  remarked :  "  I  do  not  care  about  saving 
souls ;  all  I  want  to  do  is  to  set  the  truth  before  men  and  leave 
them  to  deal  with  it."  Some  of  us  who,  a  few  years  back, 
would  scarcely  have  criticized  that  attitude,  now  feel  how 
grotesquely  inadequate  it  is  as  the  attitude  of  a  minister  tow- 
ard his  work.  Unless  the  deepest  desire  of  our  hearts  is  to 
save  men  we  have  no  business  in  the  ministry  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Of  course  "  save  "  is  to  us  a  vastly  bigger  word  than  in  the 
thought  of  past  days,  not  tied  up  to  a  future  heaven  or  hell. 


87 

nor  to  a  single  instant  of  decision,  nor  to  a  special  type  of 
creed ;  but  as  big,  broad  and  deep  as  life  itself,  as  unbounded 
as  Jesus'  own  redeeming  work.  But  to  be  good  ministers  of 
Jesus  Christ,  and  true  helpers  of  the  world,  we  must  be  at 
least  as  intense  in  our  desire  to  save  men  in  all  ways  as  our 
fathers  were  to  save  them  in  the  one  way. 

This  deepening  sense  of  the  need  of  a  Gospel  has  fre- 
quently proved  a  temptation.  Realizing  the  urgent  demand 
for  a  message  of  salvation,  the  present  lack  of  a  clear  Gospel 
in  harmony  with  our  modern  faith,  and  the  attraction  still  re- 
siding in  old  phrases  and  methods,  some  have  been  led  into  an 
attempt  to  use  old  words  and  old  ways,  echoes  of  the  dead 
past,  despite  the  inherent  contradiction  between  them  and  the 
real  faith  of  their  hearts.  A  man  of  modern  type  once  said 
to  me,  "  I  know  my  theology  is  a  great  deal  nearer  the  truth 
than  my  father's  was.  But  I  would  give  all  my  light  for  a 
little  of  his  heat."  Many  of  us  have  been  so  tempted,  as  Esau 
was ;  and  some  have  yielded,  as  Esau  did.  It  is  a  Faust-bar- 
gain, exchanging  soul  integrity  for  a  temporary  success. 

With  others  the  temptation  has  been  to  assume  what  is 
known  as  a  "  positive  note  "  in  preaching.  I  am  thinking  not 
of  the  true  positiveness  that  means  confident  affirmation  of 
our  real  faith,  but  the  assumed  positiveness,  the  violent  asser- 
tion, the  proclaiming  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord,"  not  because  we 
believe  that  the  Lord  has  said  it,  but  because  of  the  impres- 
sion the  assertion  will  produce.  It  is  the  method  employed  by 
a  certain  preacher,  who  remarked  that  when  he  came  to  a 
place  in  his  argument  where  he  felt  weak,  he  "  always  hollered 
louder." 

Against  these  and  similar  reactionary  or  shallow  expedi- 
ents, we  must  set  a  stern  guard.  We  have  put  our  hand  to  the 
plough ;  we  art  not  fit  for  the  Kingdom  if  we  turn  back.  We 
must  find  our  Gospel  by  moving  forward,  not  by  looking  back- 
ward. With  toil  and  pain,  at  any  cost,  we  must  work  out 
the  meaning  and  application  of  the  Gospel  to-day,  and  put  our 
souls  into  the  preaching  and  living  of  it. 

What  this  is  to  mean  in  detail  is  a  problem  with  which 
each  of  us  must  wrestle.  And  it  is  the  mass  of  men  out  in 
the  active  ministry,  not  the  leaders  and  teachers  alone,  who 
must  work  out  the  Gospel  our  world  needs,  the  message  that 
will  grip  the  conscience,  inspire  the  heart,  command  the  will, 
dominate  the  life  of  the  average  man  of  our  time,  and,  above 
all,  impress  him  as  spiritual  and  eternal  in  the  vital  sense  of 
being  real. 


88 

May  I  venture  to  indicate  certain  lines  along  which  I  be- 
lieve we  must  move  toward  such  a  convincing  Gospel  mes- 
sage? 

It  will  come  not  through  hiding  our  faith,  but  through 
frank  outspeaking. 

There  may  have  been  a  time,  I  think  there  was,  when 
it  was  the  part  of  wisdom  and  honor  to  say  little  directly  and 
openly  about  the  new  views  of  truth,  the  new  Bible  which 
criticism  had  given  us,  the  changed  point  of  view  in  theology, 
to  let  the  new  light  dawn  quietly.  But  that  time  is  past. 
Knowledge  of  the  new  truth  is  widely  diffused  though  vague. 
We  can,  and  we  should,  speak  out,  telling  the  plain  people 
of  the  churches  what  the  new  light  on  truth  is,  and  what 
changes  it  necessitates.  We  must  not  hide  new  light  under 
old  bushels,  or  grope  in  yesterday's  wardrobe  for  veils  to 
cover  our  faces,  or  serve  new  wine  from  old  bottles.  It  is 
high  time  we  were  saying  plainly  what  we  think,  not  offen- 
sively, not  attacking  old  systems  if  we  can  avoid  it;  but  quietly, 
resolutely  leaving  old  systems  sidetracked,  save  where  they 
insist  on  the  right  of  way  (in  that  case  we  must  keep  them 
sidetracked)  and  telling  the  people  the  truth  of  God  in  His 
world  and  in  His  word  as  we  see  it  to-day.  We  need  to  fol- 
low Mark  Twain's  effective  counsel,  "  When  in  doubt,  tell  the 
truth." 

But  will  not  this  be  dangerous?  To  ourselves,  very  likely. 
But  it  may  be  our  Gospel  will  shine  out  the  more  clearly  if  we 
face  misunderstanding  for  its  sake.  Will  it  be  dangerous  for 
the  people  who  hear  us?  No.  Not — and  here  is  the  gist  of 
the  matter — not  if  the  people  see  plainly  that  our  chief  con- 
cern is  not  the  maintaining  of  some  particular  theory,  but 
their  spiritual  upbuilding.  Where  one  would  be  unsettled  or 
cast  into  doubt  by  plain  preaching  or  modern  thought,  a  score 
would  be  helped  and  led  back  into  the  way  of  God;  and  even 
the  man  made  to  doubt  would  be  far  better  off  than  when 
comfortably  settled  in  an  inadequate  faith.  Paul's  ideal 
should  be  ours :  "  Not  walking  in  craftiness,  nor  handUng  the 
Word  of  God  deceitfully;  but  by  manifestation  of  the  truth 
commending  ourselves  to  every  man's  conscience  in  the  sight 
of  God."  Plain  preaching  of  that  sort,  throwing  aside  all 
thought  of  evasion  or  compromise,  will  help  clear  the  way  to 
our  Gospel.  This  does  not  mean  bringing  critical  conjectures 
or  theological  negations  into  the  pulpit;  it  does  mean  stating 
in  the  plainest  words  we  can  find  the  faith  in  which  our  own 
hearts  are  living  and  rejoicing. 


89 

We  should  be  able  to  discern  and  to  show  the  spiritual 
value  of  our  view  of  religious  truth.  We  should  cease  apolo- 
gizing for  the  modern  view  of  truth,  and  begin  to  be  mission- 
aries, eagerly  pointing  out  the  incomparable  values  it  possesses. 
We  should  adopt  the  method  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews, 
acknowledging  the  glory  and  power  of  the  older  faith,  but 
pointing  out  with  glowing  zeal  how  much  better  is  the  new. 
Our  critics  assert  that  the  new  view  makes  the  Bible  and  the 
Master  less  divine  by  making  them  more  human.  Let  us  glory 
in  the  fact  that,  by  making  the  Bible  more  human,  we  make 
it  more  real  and  so  more  divine;  and  that,  by  making  Jesus 
more  human,  we  make  Him  more  really  Son  of  God.  The 
new  view  of  the  Bible  sets  free  an  inestimable  moral  and  re- 
ligious force ;  for  it  shows  us  the  heroes  of  Israel  as  "  men 
of  like  passions  with  ourselves,"  struggling  manfully  out  of 
their  crude  beliefs  up  to  a  true  apprehension  of  the  living  God. 
Texts  that  were  dead  or  sleeping  in  the  old  world  of  thought 
flash  into  splendid  meaning  in  the  new  light.  "  That  he  might 
be  the  first-born  among  many  brethren  " ;  "  the  earnest  expec- 
tation of  the  creation  waiteth  for  the  revealing  of  the  sons  of 
God " ;  how  near  Christ  comes  to  us,  and  we  to  Him,  in 
those  great  words ;  and  that  sort  of  nearness  means  power. 

What  a  Gospel  of  Freedom  we  have  to  preach !  The  man 
who  stands  in  the  new  light  is  not  afraid  that  some  new  dis- 
covery, some  novel  theory,  will  knock  the  props  from  under 
his  faith.  His  faith  does  not  need  props;  the  universe  sup- 
ports it.  "  Fear  hath  torment ;  but  perfect  love  casteth  out 
fear."  Is  not  that  great  gain?  Is  there  no  worthy  Gospel 
in  the  proclamation  that  the  whole  world  of  truth  is  open  to 
one,  without  bolts  or  bars,  with  no  enemies  to  fear  ?  "  God 
hath  not  given  us  the  spirit  of  fear,  but  of  power,  and  of 
love,  and  of  a  sound  mind."  What  could  the  preacher  of  the 
older  sort  make  of  that  text  compared  with  the  Gospel  we 
find  in  it?  With  the  critical  and  theological  basis  for  faith 
that  we  have,  you  and  I  ought  to  be  able  to  preach  the  love  of 
God,  the  brotherhood  of  Christ,  the  reality  of  religion,  the 
glory  of  following  Jesus,  the  splendor  of  eternal  life,  the 
courage  of  faith,  as  no  man  ever  preached  them  before.  Let 
us  awaken  to  the  spiritual  value  of  our  own  beliefs. 

It  is  but  viewing  the  same  thing  from  another  angle  to 
say  that  we  can  and  should  emphasize  the  positive  elements  of 
the  common  faith.  We  have  been  critical  and  negative  long 
enough.  We  have  fallen  into  the  fallacious  fashion  of  attack- 
ing certain  beliefs  as  non-essential.     If  they  are  non-essential, 


90 

in  heaven's  name  let  them  alone !  Sometimes  of  course  a  non- 
essential must  be  attacked.  Paul  said,  "  Neither  circumci- 
sion nor  uncircumcision  availeth  anything  " ;  yet  on  occasion 
he  could  strike  hard  at  circumcision,  when  it  was  thrust  for- 
ward as  an  essential.  But  we  might  well  now  leave  non-es- 
sentials aside,  and  go  on  to  emphasize  the  positive  elements  in 
Christian  faith.  If  we  do  not  believe  in  the  crude  substitu- 
tionary theory  of  the  atonement,  is  that  any  excuse  for  giving 
our  main  attention  to  attacking  the  old  theory?  We  do  be- 
lieve in  the  vicarious  death,  in  a  divine  and  all-pervading 
principle  of  sacrifice  for  the  life  of  others,  finding  its  most 
powerful  and  perfect  expression  in  the  life  and  death  of 
Jesus;  we  do  believe  that  His  death  has  in  it  a  saving,  puri- 
fying force,  whereby  God  redeems  men.  We  see,  as  believers 
of  the  older  type  could  not  see  it,  the  cross  the  believer  must 
carry,  the  share  of  the  disciple  in  the  redemptive  work  of  the 
Master.  Preach  that!  Or  if  not  that,  preach  what  you  do 
find  in  the  cross,  setting  aside  what  you  do  not  find  there,  and 
speaking  gently  if  at  all,  of  what  to  others  seems  sacred,  even 
if  to  you  it  seem  false  or  hurtful. 

What  a  wealth  of  positive  teaching  and  inspiration  lies 
in  unappropriated  words  of  the  Master  and  of  the  prophets 
and  apostles  about  the  Kingdom  of  God.  Hard  enthusiastic 
Bible  study  would  endow  many  of  us  with  a  Gospel  message. 
If  some  of  us  who  are  coldly  criticizing  evangehsm, — perhaps 
with  some  justice, — would  simply  live  with  Amos  and  Isaiah, 
with  Paul  and  James,  above  all  with  Jesus,  till  we  caught  their 
spirit,  saw  their  social  visions,  and  the  applications  they  make 
of  religion  to  our  social  relations,  we  could  speak  with  a 
tongue  of  flame,  and  men  would  listen  and  be  convicted  of  sin, 
and  righteousness  and  judgment.  When  such  an  evangelistic 
message  is  heard  from  the  pulpits  as  Professor  Rauschen- 
busch  has  written,  the  world  will  feel  itself  in  the  presence  of 
a  Gospel  that  saves  and  condemns,  and  that  speaks  with  the 
authority  of  God. 

Most  of  all  we  can  find  our  Gospel  in  the  presentation  of 
religion  as  a  stem,  high,  life-demanding  art.  The  religious 
world  is  cursed  to-day  with  a  soft  and  easy  conception  of  the 
religious  life,  its  origin,  its  maintenance,  its  destiny.  The 
preacher  has  sought  too  exclusively  such  texts  as  "  Come  unto 
me  and  I  will  give  you  rest,"  neglecting  the  far  more  numer- 
ous words  that  tell  of  denying  the  self,  taking  up  the  cross, 
losing  the  life,  being  persecuted  for  righteousness'  sake.  Let 
ours  be  the  Gospel  of  the  straight  gate  and  the  narrow  way. 


91 

With  the  new  light  from  science,  from  a  better  understood 
revelation,  from  psychology,  we  can  preach,  as  no  man  ever 
preached  it  before,  the  necessity  of  whole-souled  religion,  the 
demand  of  God  for  a  united  heart  and  an  entire  life,  the 
challenge  of  Jesus  to  count  the  cost  before  becoming  His  dis- 
ciple. Such  a  message  the  world  has  lacked  these  many  years ; 
and  for  lack  of  it  the  world  has  grown  indifferent  toward 
religion,  thinking  it  a  cheap  thing.    Such  a  Gospel  we  can  give. 

Seven  years  ago  Dr.  Theodore  T.  Munger  wrote  on  "  The 
Church.  Some  immediate  Questions."  There  was  a  frank- 
ness almost  overpowering  in  his  words,  as  of  a  man  at  the 
end  of  life,  with  nothing  to  fear,  and  nothing  to  hide.  He 
has  given  there  a  vision  of  our  Gospel : 

"  The  creed  of  life,  if  we  may  so  term  it,  will  be  definite, 
searching,  severe  in  its  penalties  and  as  relentless  as  they  are 
in  life  itself,  urgent  both  on  the  restrictions  and  the  possi- 
bilities of  life,  and  never  forgetful  of  those  inspirations  that 
always  come  when  the  full  meaning  and  import  of  life  are  re- 
vealed. Its  sacrifice  will  be  more  real  than  that  of  a  vicarious 
oblation,  for  it  will  be  of  self  and  on  the  cross  of  obedience  to 
truth  and  duty.  Its  heaven  will  not  be  so  clear  and  golden  as 
that  of  old,  but  it  will  take  on  such  color  and  form  as  over- 
coming life  may  give  it,  and  become  as  real  and  present  as 
life  itself.  The  confusion  of  to-day  will  not  be  ended  by 
blowing  it  away  into  mist,  nor  by  explosions  of  criticism, 
but  only  by  clear  vision  now  opened  by  real  life  in  a  real 
world." 

It  is  time  we  were  finding  our  Gospel  and  proclaiming  it. 
The  world  waits  for  it.  Our  training  and  labor  come  to  noth- 
ing without  it.  We  can  find  it,  if  we  push  forward  with  hearts 
filled  with  longing  unrestrained  to  save  men,  to  save  the  world. 
The  sky  is  not  wholly  clear ;  but  God  still  guides  by  a  pillar  of 
cloud.  We  can  bring  to  the  world  the  deeper  religious  experi- 
ence, and  the  more  real  statement  of  truth  it  needs  only  as  we 
ourselves  find  a  deeper,  richer  experience  of  God  than  the 
faith  of  the  past  produced,  and  know  its  sources  in  ourselves 
so  surely  that  we  can  reveal  them  to  others.  But  all  this  can 
be  only  as  our  commanding  passion  is  for  saving  men.  "  I 
preached  as  dying  man  to  dying  men,"  said  Baxter.  That  is 
not  our  ideal.  We  want  to  preach  as  living  man  to  living  men. 
But  we  need  the  most  solemn  sense  of  responsibility  and  the 
glad  conviction  of  the  power  of  the  Gospel  that  the  men  of 
Baxter's  day  felt  so  keenly. 

Frederick  W.  Robertson,  pioneer  of  the  religion  of  to-day. 


92 

once  voiced  his  ideal  in  words  that  may  well  gxiide  our  preach- 
ing :^ 

"  To  live  by  trust  in  God, — to  do  and  say  the  right  because 
it  is  lovely;  to  dare  to  gaze  on  the  splendor  of  naked  truth, 
without  putting  a  false  veil  before  it  to  terrify  children  and 
old  women  by  mystery  and  vagueness, — to  live  by  love  and 
not  by  fear;  that  is  the  life  of  a  true  brave  man  who  will  take 
Christ  and  His  mind  for  the  truth,  instead  of  the  clamor  of 
either  the  worldly  world  or  the  religious  world." 


The  Christian  Missionary  and  his   Message  in   the 
Tvi^entieth   Century 

By  the  Reverend  President  Howard  S.  Bliss,  D.D. 

Mr.  President  and  Fellow  Alumni: 

I  realize  that  in  having  been  chosen  to  speak  at  this  time 
I  have  been  chosen  in  somewhat  of  a  representative  capacity, 
and  I  wish  on  behalf  of  all  my  fellow  missionaries  in  the 
foreign  field,  graduates  of  Union,  to  express  our  joy  in  this 
day  and  our  gratitude  for  it.  I  gladly  represent  them  in  these 
words  of  felicitation.  But  in  what  I  am  about  to  say  I  am, 
of  course,  speaking  my  own  thoughts,  and  my  brethren  must 
not  be  held  responsible  for  what  I  may  say.  My  theme  is 
"  The  Christian  Missionary  in  the  Twentieth  Century  and  his 
Message." 

Man  craves  life.  The  craving  is  elemental  and  universal. 
It  is  life  for  which  a  man  struggles  more  than  for  anything 
else.  All  his  instincts  are  his  allies  in  this  conflict.  It  is  be- 
cause Jesus  Christ  came  with  a  message  that  dealt  with  this 
supreme  desire  for  life  that  Jesus'  message  is  a  world-mes- 
sage. He  claimed  to  know  how  men  might  live  and  live  ade- 
quately, fully,  overflowingly ;  and  He  came  not  with  words 
simply,  but  with  a  life  that  delivered  His  message  even  better 
than  His  words.  He  gave  the  impression  of  being  alive,  vigor- 
ously alive,  overflowingly  alive,  alive  with  a  life  that  defied 
poverty,  hardship,  disease,  sorrow  and  death.  Men  asked  Him 
the  secret  of  it  all,  and  He  answered  them  in  terms  that  all 
men  could  understand,   for  the  terms  were  universal   terms 


93 

and  dealt  with  universal  facts.  And  the  answer  was  surpris- 
ingly simple.  Can  we  ever  reaHze  how  simple  it  is?  "  If  you 
wish  to  live,"  said  Christ,  "  really  live — not  a  life  of  mere 
existence,  but  a  life  of  life,  victorious,  eternal — you  must  know 
God  as  your  Father,  wise,  just,  loving,  strong;  and  you  must 
love  him  with  every  ounce  of  your  being.  You  must  know 
yourself  as  God's  child,  docile,  trustful,  obedient;  and  you 
must  love  yourself  as  such.  You  must  know  your  fellowman 
as  your  brother,  and  you  must  love  him  as  you  love  your 
brother;  and  all  this  force  which  I  have  called  love  must  be 
the  kind  of  force  which  I  have  used  in  loving  you ;  the  love 
that  expresses  itself  in  service ;  the  love  that,  having  loved, 
loves  to  the  very  end.  Do  this,  begin  to  do  this,  and  you  shall 
begin  to  live;  you  shall  live,  and  live  in  such  peace  as  the 
world  cannot  give,  and  possessed  by  a  joy  that  nothing  can 
take  away  from  you."  This  simple  message  seems  to  me  to 
be  Christ's  message,  and  this  is  the  message  he  repeats  to  every 
man  in  the  world  as  a  man  and  every  community  as  a  com- 
munity, to  every  nation  as  a  nation — or  would  fain  repeat  it. 
And  He  says  it  with  absolute  assurance  that  the  man  who  fol- 
lows this  programme  will  feel  within  himself  a  powerful 
spring  of  life,  overflowing  and  victorious. 

How  will  the  man  know  it?  He  will  know  it — know  it  as 
the  thirsty  man  knows  that  his  thirst  is  quenched  when  once 
it  is  quenched;  know  it  as  the  hungry  man  knows  when  his 
hunger  is  appeased ;  know  it  as  a  live  man  knows  he  is  alive. 
He  will  know  it.  This,  I  repeat,  is  the  essence  of  the  message 
of  Christ  to  the  world,  as  I  conceive  it,  drawn  from  the  meagre 
and  conflicting  but  sufficient  accounts  of  that  life  that  have 
come  down  to  us  and  put  into  words  that  all  men  can  under- 
stand. It  may  be  variously  expressed.  But  essentially  it  is 
the  interpretation  of  the  universe  in  terms  of  love.  Many  de- 
tails might  be  added — but  they  are  details,  splendid  details,  but 
still  details.  Many  questions  might  be  started,  and  many, 
though  not  all,  might  be  answered  and  answered  with  more  or 
less  profit  to  the  questioner,  but  neither  question  nor  answer 
is  essential.  Without  them  man's  great  craving  for  life  that 
is  life  indeed,  would  be  satisfied,  and  peace  and  joy  would  be 
his. 

Much,  however,  of  course  remains  implied.  For  the  mo- 
ment a  man  tries  to  follow  this  programme  of  Christ  in  his 
craving  for  the  real,  for  the  living  God,  in  his  desire  to  love 
God  with  every  ounce  of  his  being  and  to  serve  Him,  he  be- 
comes that  moment  instantly  aware  of  the  difficulty  of  the 


94 

task,  of  the  impossibility  of  the  task  without  the  helping  hand 
of  the  loving  God.  But  that  helping  hand  is  a  part  of  the 
simple  message  of  Christ.  Sin  will  rise  up  to  block  his  way 
and  put  down  his  advances,  or  to  stab  him  stealthily  in  the 
back,  but  there  he  will  find  God's  helping,  forgiving  hand.  A 
deeper  note  must  be  struck — the  note  of  God's  power.  With- 
out a  realization  of  the  fact  that  God's  helping  hand  is  not 
only  loving  and  tender,  but  strong — strong  for  every  emer- 
gency— man's  effort  will  be  a  losing  effort  and  the  end  will 
be   defeat. 

Now,  of  course,  it  is  absolutely  inevitable,  as  it  is  absolutely 
proper,  that  Christ's  message,  that  Christ's  interpretation  of 
the  universe,  should  be  subjected  to  an  intellectual  re-state- 
ment as  varied  as  the  mind  of  man,  a  statement  more  elaborate 
and  more  closely  articulated  in  its  various  parts  than  this 
simple  statement  from  the  lips  of  Jesus  Christ.  For  His 
message,  while  expressed  in  this  wonderfully  simple  fashion, 
deals  with  the  greatest  things  in  the  world,  the  most  mysteri- 
ous, the  deepest,  the  most  baffling;  and  it  is  natural  that  man 
should  wish  to  explore  more  closely  and  explain  more  minutely 
and  justify  more  completely  the  message.  Here  there  must  be 
perfect  liberty.  Each  temperament  should  be  given  its  full 
freedom  for  speculation,  for  inference,  for  conjecture,  for 
elaboration.  I  shall  revert  to  this  point  because  it  is  important ; 
but  here  the  plea  must  be  made — with  full  recognition  of  the 
perennial  honor  in  which  the  theologian  must  be  held — that 
Christ's  message  must  remain  on  the  lips  of  every  one  of  his 
messengers,  simple  in  its  assertions,  ample  in  its  outlines,  uni- 
versal in  its  terms. 

Such  being  the  message  of  the  Christian  missionary  in  the 
First  Century,  we  may  now  proceed  to  draw  some  conclusions 
based  upon  this  brief  statement. 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  evident  that  the  message  in  its  very 
nature  necessitates  the  messenger — creates  the  messenger. 
Love,  if  it  be  love,  must  express  itself.  Christ's  real  commis- 
sion to  evangelize  the  world  is  not  in  the  words  spoken  in 
His  last  hours  upon  the  earth.  His  message  is  His  commis- 
sion, and  the  reason  why  the  world  has  not  long  ago  been 
evangelized  is  because  somewhere  in  the  long  line  of  descend- 
ants from  the  early  Christians  the  message  failed  to  be  really 
received.  All  this  means,  if  it  means  anything,  that  every 
Christian  is  perforce  a  missionary.  We  are  indeed  begmning 
to  realize  that  all  Christians  are  ministers,  so  the  terms  minis- 
ter and  missionary  are  interchangeable,  and  as  to  the  word 


95 

foreign,  as  applied  to  missionaries,  useful  and  necessary  as 
the  adjective  may  be  from  administrative  or  geographical  con- 
siderations, it  becomes  a  mischievous,  impertinent  and  danger- 
ous word  if  it  arrogates  to  itself  the  right  of  a  qualitative  dis- 
tinction in  this  connection.  It  remains  true,  hov^ever,  that  the 
missionary  laboring  in  foreign  soil  or  the  missionary  laboring 
at  home  in  America  among  foreign  elements  is  confronted 
v^^ith  a  set  of  problems  different  from  those  which  meet  his 
fellow-workers  in  another  field.  This  arises  from  the  fact 
that  generally  he  is  dealing  with  men  strongly  committed  to 
other  beliefs,  men  whose  mental  processes  are  different  from 
his  own  race,  not  simply  individually  but  racially.  He  is 
usually  speaking  in  a  language  imperfectly  acquired,  at  the 
best  inadequately  assimilated.  To  these  natural  difficulties 
must  be  added  the  difficulties  arising  from  hostility  on  the  part 
of  his  constituency,  from  prejudice,  from  inherited  miscon- 
ception, from  resentment  at  what  seems  to  him  like  intrusion. 
Added  to  this,  the  missionary  must  often  overcome  the  poi- 
sonous impressions  left  in  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  people 
among  whom  he  is  working  by  the  blunders,  by  the  cruelty, 
by  the  callous  greed,  by  the  selfish  aggrandizement  of  the 
so-called  Christian  nations. 

Ask  Moslem  Turkey  to-day  what  she  thinks  of  Christian 
Austria,  and  therefore  of  Christianity ;  ask  the  Jewish  people 
what  they  think  of  Christian  Russia,  and  therefore  of  Chris- 
tianity; ask  heathen  Congo  what  it  thinks  of  Christian  Bel- 
gium, and  therefore  of  Christianity;  nay,  ask  millions  of 
people  in  the  Christian  Russian  Empire,  with  Tolstoy  denied 
Christian  burial,  what  they  think  of  Christianity,  and  then 
realize  the  seriousness  of  the  Christian  Missionary's  work  upon 
foreign  soil ! 

Secondly,  the  Christian  missionary  must  realize  that  his 
message  will  have  no  meaning  unless  he  himself  is  the  product 
of  the  message,  representing  and  living  the  life  which  he 
asserts  is  the  true  life,  visualizing  that  life  in  his  own  ex- 
perience and  in  his  own  activities,  showing  the  great  truths 
of  the  great  programme  of  Christ.  Never  were  Emerson's 
words  more  true  than  of  the  missionary,  "  What  you  are 
speaks  so  loud  I  cannot  hear  what  you  say."  And  here  is 
found  the  practical  difficulty,  and  here  is  the  reason  why  the 
extension  of  Christ's  kingdom  has  so  pitifully  halted,  why 
nineteen  hundred  years  after  its  proclamation  hundreds  of 
millions  of  people  do  not  know  that  God  is  their  Father, 
that  man  is  their  brother.    The  reason,  I  say,  is  that  our  own 


96 

lives  have  not  kept  up  with  our  own  words;  that  we  do  not 
know  really  what  we  are  talking  about.  "  Speak  things " 
cried  Emerson,  "  or  hold  your  tongue." 

I  believe  that  the  real  test  of  Christianity  is  coming  with 
the  facing  of  the  race  problem.  We  shall  then  know  whether 
Christ's  avowed  followers  really  believe  in  the  Brotherhood  of 
Men. 

In  the  third  place,  the  Christian  missionary  in  carrying 
the  message  to  all  the  world,  must  insist  that  Christ's  mes- 
sage is  a  definite  and  distinct  message,  based,  as  we  beHeve, 
upon  the  knowledge  of  facts  as  facts.  Christianity  respects 
all  that  is  good  in  Buddhism;  but  Christianity  is  not  Buddhism. 
Christianity  is  not  Brahmanism,  it  is  not  Mohammedanism, 
however  near  these  religions  may  come  in  some  of  their  teach- 
ings to  the  teachings  of  Christ.  It  is  a  Christian  message, 
based  upon  a  particular  attitude  to  the  universe,  explicit,  pre- 
cise and  unique.  Men  may  reject  it,  and  they  have  a  right 
to  reject  it;  but  in  rejecting  it  they  must  reject  something 
that  is  a  definite  and  coherent  interpretation  of  the  great 
mysteries  surrounding  us. 

Fourthly,  in  carrying  the  message  to  all  the  world,  the 
missionary,  while  carrying  the  message  in  its  great  simple 
outlines,  must  expect  and  must  encourage  the  age  in  which 
he  is  living,  or  the  people  among  whom  he  is  dwelling,  to 
work  out  in  their  own  way  the  details  of  its  interpretation, 
the  details  of  the  meaning  of  these  great  simple  facts,  very 
few  in  number,  but  going  down  into  the  deepest  things  in 
the  universe. 

I  here  revert  to  the  point  previously  alluded  to.  In  my 
judgment  it  cannot  be  too  strongly  emphasized,  and  emphasized 
with  reference  to  every  department  of  Christian  thought  and 
Christian  activity,  theological,  ecclesiastical,  liturgical  and  ad- 
ministrative, that  there  must  be  perfect  liberty.  This  liberty 
must  be  insisted  upon  by  the  missionary  as  he  realizes  his 
great  responsibility  to  those  races  and  those  people;  and  this 
liberty  must  be  granted  without  recrimination,  without  re- 
proach and  without  withdrawal. 

Take  such  a  practical  question  as  the  question  of  church 
organization.  If  you  adopt  any  one  of  the  familiar  definitions 
of  the  Church,  you  will  see  what  scope  is  given  for  local  de- 
velopment according  to  the  temper  of  the  age,  the  necessities 
of  the  times,  the  traditions  of  the  race.  Here  is  Dexter's  defi- 
nition of  the  Church :  "  A  Church  is  an  association  of  the 
friends  and   followers  of  Christ,   for  the  profession  of   the 


97 

Christian  faith  and  the  performance  of  Christian  duty."  But 
with  even  so  simple  a  definition,  what  a  host  of  questions  at 
once  crop  up.  How  shall  this  association  be  organized  ?  Who 
shall  be  the  organizers,  who  the  officers,  what  shall  be  the 
forms  of  admission,  what  the  ritual? 

The  Christian  missionary  will  be  ready  with  his  advice 
drawn  from  personal  experience,  based  upon  his  historical 
reading;  but  he  will  be  very  careful  how  he  attempts  to  con- 
trol, or  coerce  or  legislate.  He  will  insist,  on  the  other  hand, 
that  all  these  questions  shall  be  worked  out  locally.  For  ex- 
ample, among  the  questions  that  occur  will  be  that  of  baptism. 
Leave  it  to  the  local  development.  The  question  of  the  Lord's 
Supper,  sacred  and  beautiful  as  it  is,  is  another  which  must 
be  left  to  local  development. 

Was  Grenfell  right  or  wrong  when  he  told  his  parishioners 
that  Christ  was  not  the  Lamb  but  the  seal  of  God?  Was  he 
irreverent,  or  was  he  a  true  apostle? 

Find  universal  terms  if  possible.  If  you  cannot  do  this, 
find  local  terms  for  different  localities.  For  example,  water 
for  drinking  purposes  is  a  universal  term.  If  you  go  through- 
out the  whole  world  with  a  glass  of  water  in  your  hand,  every- 
where the  thirsty  man,  whether  he  knows  where  you  come 
from  or  believes  in  you,  will  believe  in  the  water  and  will 
reach  out  for  it.  Thus  they  will  understand  when  Christ  speaks 
of  Himself  as  the  "  W^ater  of  Life."  He  spoke  of  Himself  as 
the  Bread  of  Life.  And  yet  there  are  millions  of  people  who 
never  saw  bread,  or  ate  bread,  or  know  the  meaning  of  bread. 
And  they  will  not  understand  Christ's  phrase.  Eat  bread  in 
their  presence  and  they  will  know  it  is  food  and  then  they  will 
believe  in  it  as  a  true  symbol. 

If  Jesus  had  been  born  in  Labrador  it  is  inconceivable  that 
His  message  to  us  would  have  been  different,  so  far  as  its 
great  interpretations  are  concerned.  But  it  is  just  as  incon- 
ceivable that  He  would  have  interpreted  His  message  in  the 
language  He  used  in  Palestine  as  it  would  be  that  He  would 
have  clothed  His  body  in  the  garments  of  that  land.  Para- 
bles, similes  and  formulas  would  all  have  been  changed — the 
permanent  abiding  element  would  have  been  His  message 
about  God  as  Father,  man  as  brother,  self  as  minister,  all 
linked  together  in  the  kind  of  love  with  which  he  loved  the 
world. 

Had  Paul  been  born  a  Confucian  instead  of  a  Jew,  or  a 
Buddhist  or  a  Brahman,  and  had  still  yielded  his  allegiance  in 
these  far-off  lands  to  Jesus,  and  dedicated  his  life  to  Him  as 


98 

his  Lord  and  Saviour,  the  epistles  might  still  have  been  writ- 
ten, but  in  how  surprisingly  changed  a  form  would  the  ever- 
lasting gospel  which  he  preached  have  been  presented !  What 
strange  omissions  of  arguments  which  we  have  been  led  to 
think  indispensable  or  all  but  indispensable !  What  strange 
additions  in  historical  allusions !  What  a  new  world  of  illus- 
tration and  simile  and  metaphor ! 

Temperament  is  a  gift  of  God.  Moulds  and  categories  of 
thought  are  gifts  of  God.  Red  skins  and  yellow  skins  and 
brown  skins  are  gifts  of  God  as  well  as  white  skins.  The 
Orient  belongs  to  him,  and  the  Occident,  the  North  Pole  and 
the  South,  and  when  the  indefinitely  varied  forces  of  man's 
complex  nature  cry  out  for  individual  expression,  it  is  fighting 
against  God  to  fight  against  this  demand  of  nature.  Man  is 
man  wherever  man  is  found,  one  and  indivisible  in  his  essen- 
tial characteristics.  But  men  are  men  wherever  men  are  found, 
as  rich  in  multiform  variety  of  expression  as  they  are  in  ele- 
mental unity. 

God  is  still  a  jealous  God,  but  God  is  jealous  for  things 
and  not  for  words.  He  never  was  and  He  never  will  be  jeal- 
ous about  names  and  phraseologies  and  formularies.  Christ 
was  never  concerned  about  the  outward  honor  paid  Him.  He 
did  not  yearn  to  be  admired ;  He  yearned  to  be  followed.  He 
wished  man  to  come  to  Him,  not  as  a  Shrine  but  as  a  Door; 
not  as  a  Goal  but  as  a  Highway;  not  as  a  Memorial  Tablet, 
but  as  a  window  through  which  they  could  see  something ;  not 
as  something  to  be  gazed  at  so  much  as  the  Light  whereby 
men  might  see  God  and  man  and  life  and  opportunity  as  Christ 
saw  it. 

What  are  your  thoughts  of  Christ?  Formulate  them  in 
any  way  you  please,  provided  you  retain  the  authority  of  His 
leadership. 

Does  he  save  you  from  your  sin  ?    Call  Him  Saviour ! 

Does  he  free  you  from  the  slavery  of  your  passions  ?  Call 
Him  Redeemer ! 

Does  He  teach  you  as  no  one  else  has  taught  you?  Call 
Him  Teacher  and  Master ! 

Does  He  heal  you  from  that  which  seemed  to  be  an  in- 
curable disease?    Call  Him  Physician! 

Does  He  shine  upon  the  pathway  that  is  dark  to  you  ?  Call 
Him  Leader ! 

Does  He  reveal  God  to  you  ?    Call  Him  the  Son  of  God ! 

Does  He  reveal  man?     Call  Him  the  Son  of  Man! 

Or,  in  following  Him,  are  your  lips  silent  in  your  inca- 


99 

pacity  to  define  Him  and  His  power,  and  is  your  mouth  dumb  ? 
Call  Him  nothing,  but  follow  Him ! 

Oh,  how  our  divisive  names  shrivel  up  and  disappear  in 
the  presence  of  actual  discipleship  and  under  the  realities  of 
personal  experience. 

The  Christian  missionary  must  recognize  this,  and  must 
recognize  it  not  grudgingly  but  gladly.  Tenacious  of  his  own 
favorite  formulation  and  insisting  upon  his  right  to  that  for- 
mulation, he  will  grant  to  others  the  same  liberty  he  claims 
for  himself.  So  far  from  deprecating  variety  he  will  welcome 
it  as  increasing  the  cogency  of  the  appeal  of  the  great  gospel 
of  Jesus  Christ  as  it  is  presented  to  men  of  many  races,  many 
types  of  civilization  and  to  many  grades  within  those  types. 
The  old  battle-cries  which  quickly  drew  swords  from  scab- 
bards and  set  the  Christian  Church  in  battle  array  against 
itself,  will  become  but  the  mottoes  of  the  different  regiments, 
fighting  not  against  honest  men's  honest  convictions,  but  against 
lust  and  pride  and  irreverence  and  hatred  and  falsity.  The 
old  words  will  not  disappear,  but  they  will  lose  their  rancor; 
and  Arminian  and  Socinian  and  Calvinist,  Trinitarian  and  Uni- 
tarian, Roman  Catholic  and  Greek  Orthodox  and  Protestant, 
will  be  names  that  carry  respect  if  not  conviction  because  of 
the  fact  that  they  represent  formulations  of  belief  in  matters 
ecclesiastical,  theological  and  liturgical  that  best  express  for 
some  group  of  Christians,  if  not  for  you,  the  Message  of  the 
Master. 

And  shall  we  not  pray  that  long  before  these  great  and 
massive  buildings  of  this  particular  School  of  the  Prophets 
shall  show  signs  of  decay  our  Seminary  shall  enroll  among  its 
teachers  and  its  students  men  of  as  varied  forms  of  belief  as 
the  names  which  I  have  cited  would  indicate?  Yes,  we  must 
open  the  doors  wide,  but  we  must  be  sure  and  have  wide  doors 
to  open !  For  when  Christ  speaks  of  Himself  as  the  Door,  it 
is  well  that  we  shall  so  build  our  Seminary  that  its  door  shall 
not  be  narrower  than  the  door  which  Christ  himself  repre- 
sented. 

The  missionary  must,  furthermore,  beware  how  he  trans- 
mits to  his  constituency  the  historic  creeds  that  have  ceased 
to  mean  for  him  the  things  that  they  meant  for  their  f ramers ; 
have  ceased  perhaps  in  some  of  their  articles  to  mean  any- 
thing at  all  to  him.  Whatever  justification  a  man  may  feel  at 
home  for  continuing  to  repeat  such  words  (and  I  for  one 
think  we  are  in  great  peril  of  sacrificing  frankness  and  reality 
and  even  plain  honesty  with  great  ensuing  loss  of  power,  for 


100 

men  respect  words  that  mean  what  they  mean,  in  the  interests 
of  continuity  with  the  great  historic  churches),  abroad  there 
must  be  some  other  way  to  preserve  continuity.  Otherwise  a 
deadly  bHght  must  follow  the  discovery  upon  the  part  of  the 
people  with  whom  we  work,  that  the  solemn  recital  of  /  be- 
lieve covers  really  a  statement  of  what  /  half  believe,  or  at 
most  a  belief  that  I  would  ordinarily  express  in  very  different 
words  and  phrases. 

Do  not  misunderstand  me.  Back  of  every  article  of  these 
venerable  creeds  there  is  presumably  some  great  and  important 
truth.  I  would  not  have  the  missionary  neglect  it,  if  it  be  in- 
deed a  part  of  the  Message  of  Christ,  but  I  would  have  him 
realize  his  obligation  to  restate  the  truth  in  meaningful  words. 
At  his  own  peril,  and  to  the  peril  of  his  hearers,  he  will  pass 
over  to  them  words  that  to-day  may  be  only  infelicitous,  but 
which  to-morrow  will  become  chains  about  their  necks. 

And  this  leads  me  to  say  that  the  missionary  must  beware 
of  his  vocabulary.  He  must  realize  the  importance  of  prun- 
ing his  dictionary  from  the  standpoint  of  brotherly  apprecia- 
tion. He  must  also  be  careful  of  his  words  from  the  stand- 
point of  theological  development.  Think  of  the  burdens  that 
have  been  laid  upon  workers  among  Moslems  by  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  word  person  in  connection  with  the  formulation 
of  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  or  by  the  all  but  universal  use 
among  Christians  of  the  expression,  "  For  Christ's  sake."  It 
may  be  helpful  to  you  and  you  understand  it,  but  cannot  a  term 
be  found  that  does  not  suggest  that  God  loves  men  less  than 
Christ? 

Mohammed  in  his  early  life  came  in  contact  with  Chris- 
tians, and  yet  .somehow  got  the  impression  that  the  Trinity 
consisted  of  God  the  Father,  God  the  Son,  and  the  Virgin 
Mary.  He  somehow  got  the  impression  that  God  would 
answer  prayer  only  when  the  saints  had  been  asked  to  use 
their  influence  with  Joseph,  to  use  his  influence  with  Mary, 
to  use  her  influence  with  Jesus,  to  use  His  influence  with 
God.  I  wish  to  speak  in  great  and  utter  reverence.  Moham- 
med could  not  find  God  in  that  way,  and  he  had  to  find  God. 
Mohammed  had  to  have  a  God  that  was  a  nearer  God,  and 
he  cried  out  of  his  heart-hunger  and  his  heart-thirst,  and  he 
got  his  answer.  God  found  him.  God  spoke  to  him.  God 
said,  "  Mohammed,  I  am  near  to  you ;  /  am  nearer  to  yon  than 
the  great  artery  of  your  neck.'' 

The  missionary  must  not  adopt  words  or  phrases,  how- 
ever convenient  and  easy  of  use,  if  thereby  he  runs  the  risk 


101 

of  confusing  the  minds  of  the  coming  generation,  and  thus 
misrepresenting  the  truth  he  would  fain  represent.  The  mis- 
sionary must  never  forget  that  before  he  begins  his  work  in 
the  heart  of  a  man,  God  has  been  already  working  in  that 
heart;  indeed,  the  great  need  of  the  missionary  is  to  know 
that  God  cannot  work  with  him  unless  he  is  working  with 
God.  The  image  of  God,  however  blurred  and  worn  and 
marred,  is  still  in  every  man's  heart.  The  light  that  lighteth 
every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world  is  still  burning  in  the; 
heart,  however  dimly.  And  hence  the  approach  to  that  heart 
on  the  part  of  the  missionary  must  be  sympathetic,  it  must  be 
tender,  it  must  be  appreciative.  That  man  has  some  form  of 
religion,  and  the  religious  impulse  is  always  from  God.  It 
is  shamefully  distorted  at  times,  devilishly  twisted,  but  the 
impulse  is  from  God.  God  has  been  working  there,  and  we 
must  work  with  Him  in  that  human  heart,  softly  breathing 
upon  that  ember,  almost  dead,  until  it  glows  again  and  after 
awhile  bursts  into  a  little  flame. 

We  must  therefore  beware  how  we  rail  at  that  heathen 
and  his  religion,  lest  we  rail  at  God.  Such  words  as  heathens, 
infidels,  and  heretics,  are  not  happy  words  in  such  connection, 
and  he  had  better  drop  them ;  also  such  a  vocabulary  as  crusad- 
ing against  the  foe.  And  besides,  they  do  no  good,  but  very 
great  harm.  The  word  crusade  makes  some  of  my  Moslem 
students  white  with  anger,  and  I  do  not  wonder.  We  do  not 
wish  them  to  think  of  Christ,  the  meek  and  lowly  Jesus,  as 
coming  armed  as  a  crusader  to  overcome,  in  the  fury  of  battle 
and  the  storm  of  slaughter,  Mohammed  and  his  followers.  I 
have  known  men  who  are  separated  indefinitely  from  the 
gospel's  influence  just  because  of  these  infelicitous  and  these 
poisonous  words.  On  the  other  hand,  how  richly  beautiful  is 
Christ's  vocabulary  in  this  connection:  the  seed,  the  light,  the 
leaven,  the  life ! 

The  missionary  must  approach  his  constituency  intelli- 
gently. He  must  not  underrate  the  task  before  him.  He  is 
not  merely  dealing  with  a  sinful  man,  he  is  dealing  with  an 
ignorant  man.  or  wath  a  prejudiced  man,  or  with  a  bigoted 
man,  or  a  fanatical  man,  or  he  may  be  dealing  with  a  man  oi 
great  and  profound  intellect,  and  he  must  take  these  men  seri- 
ously, he  must  acquaint  himself  with  their  religious  creeds, 
and  patiently  and  steadfastly  must  he  strive  to  put  himself  into 
their  minds  and  learn  their  logic. 

Brethren,  have  I  pictured  an  infallible  man?  Have  I  de- 
manded unattainable  qualifications?    I  have  not  done  so  pur- 


102 

poseiy.  I  have  tried  to  match  men  with  opportunities,  to  meet 
a  demand  with  an  adequate  supply.  The  picture  has  not  been 
drawn  in  vain  if  it  succeeds  in  shaming  us  out  of  our  sloth, 
sobering  us  out  of  our  easy  good  nature  and  quickening  in  us 
a  new  sense  of  the  responsibilty  we  have  assumed  in  under- 
taking to  be  known  officially  as  the  messengers  of  our  Lord, 
charged  with  the  proclamation  of  His  message  throughout  the 
world.  I  would  make  the  task  so  high,  so  exacting,  so  dif- 
ficult, that  our  ablest,  our  most  heroic,  our  most  chivalrous 
youths,  the  most  devoted  in  all  our  seats  of  learning,  will  be 
eager  to  be  found  worthy  of  being  enrolled  among  these  ac- 
credited messengers  of  Christ.  I  would  make  the  Calling — 
one  can  ill  spare  this  rich  and  meaningful  word,  compared  with 
which  the  word  profession  seems  to  have  a  very  meager  con- 
tent— I  would  make  the  Calling  so  rich  and  so  full  and  so 
noble  an  undertaking  and  of  such  evident  power  for  service 
that  once  again  parents  would  dedicate  at  the  cradle  their 
sons  to  its  high  and  severe  and  varied  demands. 

I  have  been  speaking  as  a  minister,  as  a  missionary,  as  a 
foreign  missionary ;  but  before  I  close  I  must  speak  for  a 
minute  as  a  son  of  Union,  our  beloved  Alma  Mater.  For  us, 
my  fellow-alumni,  this  day  is  indeed  a  day  of  high  festival. 
We  care  not  what  the  weather  is  outside ;  it  is  a  day  of  bright 
and  beautiful  sunshine,  and  a  time  of  holy  omen  for  the 
oncoming  kingdom  of  Christ  in  our  lives,  in  our  homes,  in 
our  parishes,  in  the  world.  Some  of  you  may  have  shared  my 
ignorance  of  Presbyterian  history  when,  on  entering  the  Semi- 
nary as  a  student,  I  entered  it  with  the  impression  that  the 
name  Union  represented  an  interdenominational  theological 
Seminary.  At  the  time  I  was  mistaken,  and  the  discovery  of 
the  mistake  brought  its  disappointment  and  its  regret,  but 
the  years  have  brought  their  changes,  and  all  trace  of  dis- 
appointment has  been  wiped  out,  for  now  our  beloved  Semi- 
nary has  ceased  to  represent  in  its  name  a  noble  but  narrow 
victory  of  conflicting  parties  struggling  in  a  provincial  field, 
but,  thank  God,  has  indeed  become  the  union  of  larger  things, 
standing  for  a  comprehension  of  all  the  churches,  yes  stand- 
ing for  the  emphasis  of  the  great  brotherhood  of  man.  yes, 
standing  for  the  union  between  us  and  Christ  and  God! 

It  is  this  new  Union  we  now  hail  and  acclaim;  new,  not 
simply,  not  chiefly  because  of  this  noble  pile  of  recently  con- 
structed buildings,  so  suggestive  of  all  that  is  admirable  in 
ancient  architecture  and  all  that  is  practical  in  modern  equip- 
ment, but  new  because  our  beloved  Alma  Mater  has  turned 


103 

her  face  resolutely  towards  the  new  day,  not  forgetting,  in- 
deed, that  to-day  is  the  child  of  yesterday,  and  also  not  forget- 
ting that  to-day  is  the  parent  of  to-morrow ! 

May  God  bless  her  in  her  new  career !  May  God  bless  her 
and  keep  her!  May  God  cause  His  face  to  shine  upon  her, 
and  may  God  give  her  His  peace.    Amen. 


VII 

THE    ADDRESSES    AT 
THE    DEDICATION    SERVICE 

1  The    Presentation   Address,  by  the    President  of  the 

Board,  Robert  C.  Ogden,  LL.D. 

2  The  Response  for  the  Faculty,  by  the  Reverend  Presi- 

dent Francis  Brown,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

3  The  Dedication  Address  by  the  Senior  Professor,  the 

Reverend  Charles  Augustus  Briggs,  D.D.,  LL.D. 


I. 

The  Presentation   Address 
By  President  Robert  C.  Ogden,  LL.D. 

On  the  seventeenth  of  November,  1908,  friends  of  the 
Seminary  joined  with  its  Directors  and  Faculty  in  the  exer- 
cises incidental  to  laying  the  corner  stone  of  these  buildings. 
On  that  occasion  the  Directors  were  represented  by  the  Presi- 
dent, Mr.  John  Crosby  Brown,  and  the  Building  Committee 
by  one  of  its  members,  the  Reverend  Professor  George  Will- 
iam Knox. 

From  that  date  onward  the  construction  of  the  buildings 
went  steadily  forward  in  a  successful  and  satisfactory  manner, 
with  only  slight  delays  and  without  serious  accident,  until 
now  the  entire  personnel  of  the  Seminary,  Students,  Pro- 
fessors, President  of  the  Faculty,  and  Executive  Staff  are 
comfortably  installed  in  commodious,  elegant  and  practically 
completed  quarters  and  have  fully  entered  upon  the  practical 
work  of  the  seventy-fifth  Academic  Year  of  the  Seminary.  In 
the  short  space  of  two  years  a  beautiful  hope  has  passed  from 
a  creation  of  the  imagination  to  an  exquisite  material  ex- 
pression. 

We  are  now  assembled  that  we  may  complete  the  transac- 
tion begun  two  years  since  and  dedicate  these  buildings  by  ap- 
propriate religious  service  and  suggestive  public  address  to 
their  sacred  and  holy  purposes. 

In  recent  years  death  has  been  busy  with  the  ranks  of 
our  Board  of  Directors.  Shortly  after  the  laying  of  the 
comer  stone  our  President,  Mr.  John  Crosby  Brown,  passed 
over  to  the  majority  of  our  Associates  already  in  the  life  be- 
yond. I  am  thus  called  to  stand  in  his  place  and  to  speak  to 
you  briefly  in  behalf  of  the  Board  of  Directors  and  its  Build- 
ing   Committee. 

The  occasion  is  in  its  very  nature  unique.  The  dedication 
of  a  great  group  of  buildings  exclusively  to  religious  education 
is  a  very  rare  event.  St-ructures  devoted  to  science,  the  fine 
arts,  religious  worship,  public  service  and  education  will  in 

107 


108 

the  future  be  numerous  and  their  dedication  not  uncommon. 
Some  are  here  present  that  witnessed  on  December  9th,  1884, 
the  dedication  of  the  buildings  at  No.  7(X)  Park  Avenue,  but 
it  is  unthinkable  that  any  of  this  audience  will  ever  witness 
any  departure  of  this  Seminary  from  this  place,  or  any  change 
of  construction  beyond  some  additions  already  planned. 

Some  quite  remarkable  incidents  have  marked  the  con- 
struction of  these  buildings.  Especially  noticeable  was  the 
selection  of  the  plans.  In  response  to  the  invitation  of  the 
Building  Committee,  thirty-five  architects  and  firms  submitted 
plans.  The  authorship  of  the  various  designs  was  scrupu- 
lously concealed  from  the  knowledge  of  every  one.  Under 
this  condition  a  jury  of  architects  was  selected  to  examine  all 
and  advise  upon  the  best.  After  this  the  Committee  was  as- 
sembled for  the  final  decision.  An  extended  personal  exam- 
ination followed  and  when  an  expression  of  preference  was 
solicited  the  entire  Committee  was  a  unit  upon  the  first  choice. 
Upon  opening  the  sealed  verdict  of  the  architects  it  was  found 
to  be  the  same  as  that  of  the  Committee.  This  remarkable 
harmony  and  unity  has  supplied  the  keynote  of  the  whole  con- 
struction. The  solemn  element  in  the  proceeding  is  that  three 
members  of  that  Building  Committee  have  passed  away,  Mr. 
D.  Willis  James  and  the  Reverend  President  Charles  Cuth- 
bert  Hall  before  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  and  Mr.  John 
Crosby  Brown,  afterward.  The  buildings  stand  here  essen- 
tially complete  upon  the  lines  originally  chosen.  There  has 
been  no  occasion  to  regret  at  any  point  the  decision  then  made. 
May  we  not  take  the  conditions  under  which  this  group  of 
buildings  has  been  created  as  a  prophecy  of  the  unity  of 
spirit,  the  bonds  of  peace,  the  dynamic  energy,  under  which 
this  Seminary  shall  continue  its  future  work,  continually  ris- 
ing with  the  lengthening  years  to  greater  heights  of  powerful 
influence ! 

In  organizations  of  every  sort  it  is  impossible  to  over- 
estimate the  value  of  spiritual  life.  This  is  true  in  varying 
degrees  of  business  and  academic  corporations,  of  factories 
and  of  churches,  and  in  the  highest  extent  of  institutions  for 
religious  education.  This  spirit  is  the  product  of  individual 
lives  and  character.  When  an  educational  institution,  and 
especially  one  founded  for  religious  purposes,  is  rich  in  the 
heritage  of  accumulated  forces  produced  by  a  great  aggregate 
of  great  lives  the  administration  of  its  affairs  imposes  a  very 
solemn  duty.  Such  is  the  case  with  this  Seminary.  From  a 
study  of  the  past  there  arises  a  group  of  memories,  hallowed. 


109 

sacred,  inspiring — the  roll-call  of  its  nobility  may  be  heard  in 
the  Court  of  Heaven  and  the  whisperings  of  its  echoes  are 
often  in  our  thoughts  as  their  names  are  often  on  our  lips — 
Butler,  Dodge,  Jesup,  McAlpin,  James,  Brown,  Adams,  Hitch- 
cock, Hall.    The  entire  list  is  too  long  for  repetition. 

No  academic  heritage  can  be  more  intolerable  than  a  finan- 
cial debt  to  the  past,  but  there  is  richness  beyond  the  power  of 
money  to  buy,  in  a  spiritual  debt  to  the  past.  Its  inspiration 
can  supply  nerve  to  the  weak  arm,  can  give  courage  to  the 
timid  heart,  can  strengthen  the  tired  brain.  From  the  begin- 
ning, seventy-five  years  ago,  continuously  to  this  very  hour, 
this  debt  of  the  Union  Seminary  has  been  accumulating.  In 
counting  up  its  assets  we  can  find  with  every  instance  of  large 
material  generosity,  that  may  be  estimated  in  currency,  a  large 
gift  of  the  spirit  that  makes  a  priceless  contribution  of  faith 
and  hope. 

This  occasion  gives  potential  evidence  of  the  close  associ- 
ation of  the  material  and  the  ideal  existing  in  this  institution. 
While  our  thoughts  are  busy  with  the  munificence  of  Mr. 
James  and  later  of  Mrs.  James,  both  supplemented  by  the  lib- 
erality of  Mr.  Brown,  we  must  not  forget  that  we  are  occu- 
pied with  the  larger  interests  of  a  school  of  the  Prophets  of 
national  and  international  reputation.  In  this  Seminary  the 
constructive  note  of  progress  takes  its  impulse  from  a  living 
faith  that  is  certain  and  from  a  spirit  too  genuine  to  be  meas- 
ured by  words,  but  to  be  sought  and  to  be  found  in  the  ideals 
of  her  godly  sons. 

The  position  of  this  Seminary  has  been  wrought  out 
through  the  stress  and  strain  of  conflict  and  misunderstanding 
with  a  spirit  of  tolerance  such  as  she  only  desired  to  receive 
from  others.  After  an  extended  period  of  reconstruction,  the 
Seminary  is  now  at  a  point  where  its  mission  is  not  contro- 
versy but  reconciliation.  The  crowning  oflficial  act  came  with 
the  elimination  of  subscription  to  an  ancient  creed  as  the  bind- 
ing official  symbol  qualifying  Directors  and  Faculty  and  the 
substitution  therefor  of  a  simple,  clear,  concise  statement  of 
evangelical  faith  in  God  and  in  his  son  Jesus  Christ  that  could 
be  acceptable  to  Christian  believers  of  every  name.  That  final 
step  was  longer  and  higher  than  appeared  to  many.  But  there 
were  men  of  vision  who  saw  more  clearly  the  possibilities  of 
that  advance.  Prominent  among  them  were  Mr.  James,  Mr. 
Brown  and  Dr.  Hall,  prophetic  spirits,  keen  to  discern  the 
truth  and  courageous  to  express  it.  And  this  dedication  of 
this  great  plant  is  the  outcome  of  that  action.     We  look  at  it 


110 

with  loving  admiration,  we  name  its  cost  in  dollars,  we  accept 
it  all  with  a  certain  honest  gratitude  and  pride.  But  our 
larger  response  is  for  the  sympathy  of  the  human  hearts  that 
inspired  it,  that  gave  themselves  with  their  gifts  and  thus  have 
built  into  these  walls,  with  a  grace  beyond  the  highest  capaci- 
ties of  art  to  express,  their  own  human  lives. 

We  do  not  admit  in  this  Seminary  the  truth  of  the  pro- 
position that  there  must  be  a  secular  side  to  a  religious  or- 
ganization. By  its  very  nature  it  is  all  sacred  whether  the 
transactions  be  in  stocks,  bonds,  cash,  real  estate,  the  sacred 
scriptures,  religious  scholarship  or  any  of  the  sorts  of  train- 
ing for  the  ministry  of  the  Holy  Gospels. 

Therefore  in  speaking  officially  for  the  Board  of  Directors 
I  do  not,  in  personally  addressing  you  as  the  Reverend  Presi- 
dent Francis  Brown,  assume  to  speak  from  the  secular  to  the 
sacred  elements  of  this  Seminary.  In  your  own  person  the 
two  forms  of  administration  are  united.  You  are  a  member 
of  the  Board  of  Directors,  Chairman  of  its  Executive  Com- 
mittee and  President  of  the  Faculty.  It  is  in  respect  of  this 
latter  that  I  venture  to  speak  a  few  words. 

It  is  proper  to  congratulate  you  as  the  Executive  head  of 
this  Seminary  upon  the  occupancy  of  these  admirable,  com- 
plete and  beautiful  premises.  I  think  I  am  correct  in  the  state- 
ment that  no  essential  has  been  omitted  in  their  construction, 
although  a  few  minor  details  await  completion. 

Appreciation  from  a  cultivated  Public  of  the  appropriate 
elegance  of  the  architecture  of  these  buildings  is  coming  to 
us  in  abundant  measure.  An  increased  number  of  appreci- 
ative students  are  responding  to  the  opportunities  of  Christian 
scholarship  offered  by  the  Seminary.  The  open-minded  spirit 
that  marks  the  freedom  of  research  prevailing  here  is  gener- 
ally recognized.  The  service  rendered  to  sacred  learning  on 
behalf  of  all  higher  education  in  this  country  through  the  stand 
here  taken  for  the  liberty  of  the  Gospels  is  gratefully  acknowl- 
edged. All  these  points,  and  others  not  mentioned,  material 
and  intellectual,  are  prominent  in  our  minds  at  this  hour. 

You  are  also  to  be  congratulated  that  you  are  the  head  of 
an  institution  for  religious  education  to  which  a  young  man 
may  come  from  any  Christian  communion,  enjoy  all  its  ad- 
vantages in  scholarship  and  yet  be  entirely  free  from  any 
proselyting  influence.  It  is  this  spirit  that  unites  five  differ- 
ent denominations  in  the  teaching  staff  and  twenty  in  the  stu- 
dent body.  From  this  comes  also  the  spirit  of  tolerance  toward 
other  and  positively  different  faiths  that  seek  to  find  the  points 


Ill 

of  agreement  for  human  betterment  without  putting  undue 
emphasis  upon  points  of  difference. 

And  all  this  is  quite  consistent  with  our  conviction  that 
religious  belief  should  be  intelligent  and  positive,  constructive 
not  destructive,  and  that  it  should  have  competent,  thoroughly 
equipped,  courteous,  kindly  and  tolerant  defenders  of  the 
faith.  To  meet  this  condition  it  is  well  knowp  is  the  purpose 
of  yourself  and  your  Faculty. 

The  forward  movement  inaugurated  here  to-day  should, 
we  think,  mark  a  new  and  progressive  epoch  in  theological 
education.  It  is  not  within  the  province  of  a  layman  even 
when  speaking  for  a  Board  largely  composed  of  clergymen, 
to  give  advice  or  even  positive  suggestion  to  the  President  of 
a  Faculty.  Nevertheless,  I  venture  to  remark  that  we  are 
living  in  a  period  of  change  and  expansion.  It  is  necessary  that 
Christianity  should  look  toward  the  saving  of  society  and  of 
the  State  as  well  as  of  the  individual,  that  the  Fatherhood 
of  God  and  the  brotherhood  of  man  imply  in  many  human  re- 
lations, and  especially  in  religion,  a  democracy  that  should  be 
essentially  Christian.  This  great  fact  seems  just  now  some- 
what overshadowed. 

To  the  plain  man  familiar  with  the  ordinary  affairs  of  life 
the  present  opportunity  for  the  pastor  seems  never  to  have 
been  equalled  and  the  need  for  special  training  never  so  great. 
The  exactions  of  complicated  city  life  and  the  bare,  hard 
conditions  of  rural  life  alike  demand  specific  instruction. 
These  suggestions,  and  others  of  equal  import  call  for  in- 
creasing attention  that  the  mental  and  spiritual  powers  should 
combine  the  wisdom  of  the  school  with  knowledge  of  prac- 
tical affairs  to  the  end  that  the  Kingdom  of  God  may  come. 

Knowing  full  well  that  you  are  leader  and  master  in  all 
subjects  that  pertain  to  your  eminent  position,  that  your 
ideals  from  the  past  and  of  the  present  are  of  the  highest  type, 
that  you  enjoy  the  affectionate  allegiance  of  your  faculty;  I 
now,  on  behalf  of  your  brothers  in  the  Board  of  Directors 
confirm  the  loyalty  expressed  at  your  inauguration,  two  years 
ago,  and  with  most  ardent  desires  for  your  health,  happiness, 
and  long  continued  usefulness  again  commit  the  welfare  of 
this  Seminary  to  your  care  and  keeping. 


112 


2. 


The   Response  for  the   Faculty 
By  the  Reverend  President  Francis  Brown,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

Mr.  Ogden  : 

It  is  a  great  trust  which  you  are  committing  to  the  Faculty 
of  this  Seminary,  whose  spokesman  I  am  permitted  to  be  this 
afternoon.  We  thank  you,  and  the  Board  of  Directors,  and  its 
Building  Committee,  through  you.  We  thank  you  for  all  the 
arrangements  made  so  thoughtfully  for  our  personal  con- 
venience. These  are  obvious  to  every  visitor,  and  we  have 
reason  to  appreciate  them  a  hundred  times  a  day.  This  is 
worth  mentioning  here,  only  because  it  makes  for  our  effi- 
ciency as  workmen,  and  we  thank  you,  most  of  all,  for  the 
facilities  with  which  you  have  here  provided  us  to  do  the 
work  you  have  set  us  to  do.  Our  students  share  these  feel- 
ings with  us,  and  we  are  sorry  that  the  limits  of  room  make  it 
impossible  for  all  to  be  here,  to  show  their  enthusiasm,  of 
which  we  have  constant  testimony. 

We  are  all  the  more  grateful  because  we  understand  quite 
well  that  you  do  not  offer  us  these  buildings  that  we  may  take 
our  ease  in  them,  but  that  we  may  render  larger  service  in 
them.  You  are  not  spreading  cushions  for  us  to  repose  on. 
You  are  opening  a  door  into  a  broader  field.  You  are  not 
setting  us  on  this  hill-top  that  we  may  be  conspicuous  objects 
of  envy  as  we  bask  in  the  sunshine  of  a  new  prosperity,  but 
that  we  may  join  hands  with  our  good  neighbors  who  are 
here  already  in  the  advancement  of  knowledge  and  of  per- 
sonal power — and  that  we  may  look  out  more  widely  over  the 
world,  and  train  our  cadets  in  view  of  the  whole  vast  battle- 
field.   We  thank  you  for  this  splendid  opportunity. 

The  trust  comes  to  us  with  the  authority  of  an  imperative. 
These  stones  have  voices  and  cry  their  summons  to  us.  We 
are  stupid  and  unworthy  if  we  do  not  hear  it.  What  are  we 
to  do  wth  these  buildings  and  in  them?  How  are  we  to  use 
this  great  vantage  ground?  The  trust — in  some  ways  un- 
paralleled— imposes  its  tremendous  obligation. 

It  is  an  obligation  to  the  benefactors  who  have  made  this 
day  possible.  We  cherish  their  names  and  feel  our  debt  to 
them  in  our  hearts.    We  are  bound  to  see  to  it  that  their  gifts 


113 

accomplish  in  fact  what  they  have  so  ardently  wished  them  to 
accomplish. 

It  is  an  obligation  to  all  our  past,  from  the  first  group 
of  Christian  men  who  outlined  this  Seminary  in  their  faithful 
plan — Absalom  Peters,  Henry  White,  William  Patton,  Ers- 
kine  Mason,  William  Adams,  and  other  ministers  with  them 
— Knowles  Taylor,  Richard  T.  Haines,  William  M.  Hal- 
stead,  Charles  Butler,  Fisher  Howe,  Norman  White,  Anson  G. 
Phelps,  and  other  laymen  with  them — from  this  group  on 
through  the  strong  Directors  and  wise  teachers  who  gave  the 
first  tone,  the  distinct  quality,  to  the  Seminary,  down  to  those 
who  have  only  now  left  us,  and  those  who  are  with  us  still. 
Mr.  Ogden  has  spoken  of  our  spiritual  debt  to  the  past.  All 
these  men  who  have  put  their  good  lives  into  the  work  of 
the  Seminary — not  without  toil  and  strain — are  our  creditors, 
steadily  insistent — not  to  withdraw  their  investment — they 
could  not  if  they  would,  it  had  already  been  transformed  into 
spiritual  power — but  to  see  their  investment  of  life  and 
thought  and  faith  yielding  its  increment  to  the  end,  and  this, 
just  now,  depends  on  our  administration  of  the  trust. 

But  our  obligation  is  also  to  the  Church  of  Christ.  The 
Seminary  has  been  established  and  cherished  to  serve  the 
Church;  its  Directors,  Professors  and  Graduates  are  servants 
of  the  Churches.  The  Church  needs  training  for  its  servants 
and  an  institution  like  this  is  set  to  give  it — training  first  for 
those  whose  one  occupation  is  church  leadership  and  activity, 
and  then  for  those  who  seek  fitness  for  some  other  special 
function  in  the  Church's  life.  If  we  do  not  do  this  thing  for 
those  who  come  to  us,  we  are  failures,  we  are  in  the  way,  we 
are  cumberers  of  the  ground.  To  make  the  fit  ones  fitter, 
and  to  keep  the  unfit  out,  as  far  as  in  us  lies,  are  the  two 
aspects  of  this  great  obligation — and  the  Church  ought  to  hold 
us  to  account — and  inevitably,  and  almost  unconsciously  it 
does  and  it  will.  And  this  is  a  sobering  matter  for  us  to  think 
about. 

Among  our  superior  obligations  is  the  obligation  to  the 
truth.  We  feel  bound  to  take  this  very  seriously.  It  means 
that  we  must  get  at  the  truth,  ourselves,  to  the  limit  of  our 
power,  and  we  do  not  imagine  that  we  know  it  all,  or  ever 
shall.  Necessity  is  upon  us — a  divine  compulsion  we  think 
it  is — to  search  after  new  aspects  of  truth,  and  to  teach  our 
students  to  do  the  same.  We  find  the  old  truths  unfolding 
into  new  meaning  when  we  regard  them,  not  as  solid  blocks, 
laid  in  cement,  hard  and  changeless,  but  as  a  garden  of  plants 


Hi 

and  trees  with  perennial  life,  whose  blossom  and  fruitage  the 
watchful  gaze  can  see.  And  because  we  know  we  can  keep 
our  eyes  on  only  one  side  of  the  garden,  we  are  glad  to  know 
that  other  observers  have  stationed  themselves  at  other  points, 
and  we  expect  what  they  see  to  supplement  what  we  see,  and 
contribute  to  the  rounded  and  completed  truth.  And  our  obli- 
gation is  to  see  straight,  and  help  our  younger  brothers  who 
come  to  us  for  guidance  to  see  straight — with  their  eyes,  not 
with  ours — because,  so  it  seems  to  us,  only  the  man  who  is 
ready  to  see  the  truth  for  himself,  is  prepared  to  know  God. 

Our  supreme  obligation  is  to  God,  our  Father.  The 
sacredness  of  all  this  great  equipment,  to  which  Mr.  Ogden 
has  alluded,  makes  the  crowning  duty  for  us.  We  know  that 
we  belong  to  God,  and  we  believe  that  He  belongs  to  us — 
"Our  Father  "  we  say.  That  means  that  the  buildings  and 
facilities  entrusted  to  us  are  a  commission  from  Him.  Each 
man  and  woman  of  you  has  a  sacred  commission ;  this  one 
is  ours.  We  have  to  accept  it  at  His  hands,  and  discharge  it, 
if  we  can. 

Our  God  has  shown  Himself  to  us  by  many  tokens,  but 
chiefly  in  Jesus  Christ — so  that  we  are  confident  that  God, 
who  is  Lord  of  all,  in  character  and  purpose  is  what  Jesus 
showed  himself  to  be — as  righteous  and  wise  and  loving  and 
forgiving  and  more,  and  stronger,  because  human  and  earthly 
conditions  were  present  in  Jesus  which  do  not  hamper  God — 
that  as  much  of  God  was  in  Jesus  as  a  human  life  can  show. 
And  when  we  see  Jesus  giving  himself  for  men,  we  know 
that  God  realizes  his  own  desire  in  giving  himself  for  men, 
and  we  see  no  final  hope  for  men — no  other  deliverance  from 
selfishness  and  obedience  to  the  lower  impulses — except  in 
sharing  this  spirit,  and  adopting  for  themselves  this  divine  plan 
of  life  which  Jesus  lived  by,  and  which  dwells  forever  in 
God.  And  our  summons  is  to  teach  our  students  this.  This 
means,  of  course,  enlisting  them  intelligently  in  the  service  of 
spreading  this  spirit  and  manner  of  life  in  the  earth.  For 
this  service  they  need  knowledge  of  the  world  itself  in  its 
varied  life  and  need,  and  some  understanding  of  how  the 
things  that  are  have  come  to  be.  And  they  need  long  training 
in  the  art  of  applying  their  knowledge  of  God,  which  is  meant 
for  use  in  the  common  ways  of  men,  to  the  actual  problems — 
the  intricate  questions  that  vex  weary  hearts  and  proud  hearts 
as  the  earth  daily  turns  each  face  to  the  sun  again,  waking  the 
sleepers  once  more  to  their  old  temptations  and  duties  and 
opportunities. 


115 

It  is  a  world-wide  enterprise.  Men  in  all  continents  have 
to  learn  the  new  lesson.  And  no  man  can  work  out  his 
problem  alone.  We  are  born  into  families,  and  the  whole 
world  is  akin,  and  to  live  with  God  means  to  live  as  members 
of  the  social  organism,  which  God  has  set  going,  and  in  which 
his  mighty  plan  is  to  be  realized. 

When  we  catch  sight,  as  we  do  now  and  then,  of  that  which 
is  to  be,  we  see  men  and  women  living  everywhere  in  purity 
and  peace,  the  strong  bearing  the  infirmities  of  the  weak  and 
not  pleasing  themselves — pleasing  themselves  by  serving  the 
rest — a  social  life  which  is  a  life  of  righteousness  and  con- 
sideration in  equal  parts,  and  a  heaven  above  to  which  ladders 
rise,  with  angels  ascending  and  descending  on  every  hand. 
The  time  is  not  yet — but  we  take  it  as  the  best  expression  of 
our  obligation  to  God  for  these  splendid  things  about  us,  that 
we  devote  ourselves  as  we  accept  this  trust,  devote  ourselves 
with  all  we  have,  including  what  is  lent  to  us  so  generously 
here,  with  all  that  we  are,  and  can  do,  to  patient  work  toward 
this  one  end — the  reproduction  of  the  character  and  purpose 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which  shall  usher  in  the  triumphant 
kingdom  of  God. 


3- 

The    Dedication   Address 

The  Ideal  of  the  Study  of  Theology 

By  the   Reverend  Professor  Charles  Augustus   Briggs, 
D.D.,  D.LiTT.       • 

We  are  assembled  on  this  occasion  to  dedicate  the  new 
buildings  of  Union  Theological  Seminary  to  their  work  of 
training  theological  students  for  the  Christian  ministry.  This 
is  the  third  set  of  buildings  in  which  this  Seminary  has  been 
housed.  It  has  been  the  privilege  of  the  speaker  to  have  been 
a  student  in  the  earliest  of  them,  and  a  professor  for  thirty- 
six  years  in  all  of  them.  One  of  his  chief  joys  is  the  friend- 
ship of  the  sometime  President,  Charles  Butler,  our  venerable 
leader  in  troublous  times,  who  linked  the  Founders  with  the 
present.  It  has  also  been  his  privilege  to  know  by  personal 
acquaintance  several  other  Founders  of  this  Seminary,  and  the 
most  of  its  Directors,  Professors  and  benefactors.     On  this 


116 

occasion  many  of  you  are  asking,  what  is  the  purpose  of  these 
splendid  and  costly  buildings,  erected  by  the  piety  and  munifi- 
cence of  representative  merchants  of  this  metropolis.  It  is 
only  fitting  that  I  should  answer  you ;  and  I  am  happy  to  be 
able  to  do  so  by  simply  unfolding  the  ideal  of  the  Founders 
of  the  Seminary,  to  which  each  succeeding  generation  of  Di- 
rectors and  Faculty  has  been  faithful,  as  the  charter  of  our 
duty  and  our  rights,  the  exponent  of  the  spirit  and  life  of  the 
Seminary,  to  be  perpetuated  in  all  time,  the  Ideal  of  the  Study 
of  Theology. 

As  I  ask  your  attention  to  this  theme  to-day,  I  do  so  not 
merely  out  of  reverence  for  the  past,  piety  to  the  Founders, 
and  fidehty  to  those  noble  men  with  whom  I  have  been  associ- 
ated for  so  many  years  in  this  institution ;  but  because  my  ex- 
perience as  a  student  and  teacher  of  Theology  for  half  a  cen- 
tury, my  studies  in  the  history  of  theological  education,  and 
my  acquaintance  with  institutions  of  learning  in  many  parts 
of  the  world,  all  convince  me  that  our  Founders  were  alto- 
gether right  in  their  ideal.  I  can  subscribe  to  it,  as  I  doubt  not 
is  the  case  with  all  my  colleagues,  with  my  whole  heart. 

It  is  an  ideal  so  simple  and  yet  so  profound,  so  masterly 
and  yet  so  inviting,  that  we  and  our  predecessors  have  been 
trying  to  realize  it  during  three-quarters  of  a  century ;  in  which 
this  Seminary  has  risen,  as  it  were  from  dust  and  ashes, 
through  many  sad  experiences  of  poverty  and  affliction,  of  con- 
flict, temporary  defeat  and  ultimate  victory,  to  our  present 
magnificent  situation. 

We  have  not  yet  attained  the  fulness  of  our  ideal,  but  in 
this  new  home,  where  we  have  such  great  opportunities  for 
growth  and  expansion,  excelling  all  that  we  had  any  right  to 
expect,  we  are  pressing  on,  with  a  more  solemn  realization  of 
our  privileges,  but  with  fresh  vigor  and  renewed  courage, 
"  toward  the  mark,  for  the  prize  of  the  high  calling  of  God  in 
Christ  Jesus  "  (Phil,  iii :  13-14)  ;  for  we  are  assured  that  that 
mark  is  the  Ideal  of  the  Study  of  Theology. 

Sadness  tempers  our  joy  as  we  remember  those  noble  Di- 
rectors who  have  so  recently  been  taken  from  us :  our  late 
vice-president,  D.  Willis  James,  whose  princely  gifts  first  made 
these  buildings  possible ;  and  our  late  president,  John  Crosby 
Brown,  whose  wise  administration  adopted  their  plans  and 
laid  their  foundations ;  our  Moses  and  Aaron,  they  saw  the 
promised  land  from  afar,  and  led  us  to  its  very  gates,  but  were 
not  permitted  to  enter.  They  are  doubtless  with  us  to-day, 
in  spirit,  and  ever  will  be,  as  we  endeavor  to  carry  on  the 


117 

ideal  of  the  Founders  as  they  received  it  and  embodied  it  for 
us  in  such  worthy  and  appropriate  structures. 

The  Ideal  of  Theological  Education  given  us  by  our  Found- 
ers in  the  Preamble  of  our  Constitution  is  as  follows : 

"  Being  fully  persuaded  that  vital  godliness  well-proved, 
a  thorough  education,  and  a  wholesome  practical  training  in 
works  of  benevolence  and  pastoral  labors,  are  all  essentially 
necessary  to  meet  the  wants  and  promote  the  best  interests  of 
the  Kingdom  of  Christ,  the  Founders  of  this  Seminary  design 
that  its  students  shall  have  the  opportunity  of  adding  to  solid 
learning  and  true  piety,  enlightened  experience." 

This  Preamble  gives  us  three  constituent  elements  of  our 
ideal : 

I — Vital  godliness — true  piety. 

2 — Thorough  education — solid  learning. 

3 — Wholesome  practical  training — enlightened  experience. 

The  ideal  of  theological  education  of  this  Seminary  is  not 
that  of  all  theological  institutions,  or  of  all  teachers  of  theol- 
ogy. There  are  some  who  think  these  constituents  inhar- 
monious and  inconsistent.  There  are  many,  especially  in  Ger- 
many, who  regard  the  practical  training  as  irreconcilable  with 
a  thorough  scientific  education ;  for,  say  they,  the  practical 
training,  with  the  ministry  of  the  Church  in  view,  limits  the 
study  of  theology  to  that  which  the  Church  requires,  and 
makes  the  Church  the  final  aim  rather  than  the  Truth  itself. 
How  can  a  scholar  give  himself  to  the  search  for  the  Truth, 
the  whole  Truth  and  nothing  but  the  Truth,  when  the  Church 
has  already  decided  for  him  what  the  Truth  is;  and  has  in- 
deed limited  him  to  the  denominational  form  of  it,  in  his 
teaching  and  in  his  learning?  This  peril  was  fully  understood 
by  our  Founders  and  wisely  provided  for.    They  say : 

"  It  is  the  design  of  the  Founders  to  provide  a  Theological 
Seminary  in  the  midst  of  the  greatest  and  most  growing  com- 
munity of  America,  around  which  all  men  of  moderate  views 
and  feelings,  who  desire  to  live  free  from  party  strife,  and  to 
stand  aloof  from  all  extremes  of  doctrinal  speculation,  prac- 
tical radicalism  and  ecclesiastical  domination,  may  cordially 
and  affectionately  rally." 

They  saw  at  the  time  of  the  founding  of  this  Seminary 
that  the  then  existing  Theological  Seminaries,  for  the  most 
part,  were  subject  to  ecclesiastical  domination,  and  were  suf- 
fering from  the  evil  eflfects  of  it.  They  saw  very  clearly  that 
any  action  of  ecclesiastical  bodies,  either  in  the  appointment 
or  removal  of  professors,  or  in  the  oversight,  direction  or  crit- 


118 

icism  of  their  instruction,  can  only  be  destructive  of  theolog- 
ical scholarship.  They  were  determined  that  this  Seminary 
should  never  be  subject  to  such  control ;  and  therefore  it  was 
organized  by  ministers  and  laymen  entirely  apart  from  any 
ecclesiastical  body.  They  obtained  a  Charter  from  the  State 
of  New  York  which  perpetuated  the  control  of  the  Seminary 
by  themselves  and  their  successors  chosen  by  themselves.  The 
Directors  of  the  Seminary  in  1870,  in  the  interests  of  the  re- 
union of  the  Presbyterian  Church  and  to  relieve  the  other 
Seminaries  of  that  Church  from  ecclesiastical  domination, 
agreed  to  give  the  General  Assembly  the  right  of  veto  on  the 
appointment  of  our  Professors.  But  in  1891,  when  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  used  this  right  of  veto  in  an  effort  to  gain 
ecclesiastical  dominion  over  the  Seminary,  it  was  stoutly  re- 
sisted, and  it  was  soon  ascertained  that  the  Directors  had 
transcended  their  charter  rights  and  duties,  even  in  giving  the 
right  of  veto  to  the  General  Assembly. 

Thus  this  Seminary  was  founded  free  from  ecclesiastical 
domination,  and  it  has  fought  a  hard  but  victorious  fight 
against  it.  The  result  of  that  battle  has  been  a  still  further  ad- 
vance towards  the  ideal  of  the  Founders. 

As  the  Seminary  was  founded  by  Presbyterians,  it  was  a 
part  of  the  plan  that  the  instruction  should  embrace  "  a  thor- 
ough knowledge  of  the  standards  of  faith  and  discipline  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church."  But  it  is  evident  that  the  Founders 
did  not  mean  to  lay  stress  upon  this,  for  it  was  subordinated 
to  the  greater  whole  of  "  a  full  and  thorough  education,"  in 
which  it  was  embraced  as  a  part  only.  And  in  the  Charter  it 
is  defined  that  "  equal  privileges  of  admission  and  instruction 
with  all  the  advantages  of  the  Institution,  shall  be  allowed  to 
students  of  every  denomination  of  Christians."  This  pro- 
vision involved  that  the  teaching  of  these  students  should  not 
be  denominational  teaching;  but  a  teaching  which  all  students 
of  all  denominations  might  attend  with  profit,  and  without 
detriment  to  their  denominational  affinities.  And  I  can  testify 
both  as  a  student  and  a  professor  familiar  with  this  Seminary 
for  the  greater  part  of  its  history  that  the  instruction  has  al- 
ways been  of  a  comprehensive  character  without  denomina- 
tional bias.  This  attitude  of  the  Seminary  has  been  appropri- 
ately expressed  in  the  name  Union,  and  the  Directors  and 
Professors  of  this  institution  have  ever  been  in  the  forefront 
of  every  movement  for  religious  co-operation  and  reunion. 

The  requirement  of  special  instruction  "  in  the  standards 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  "  implied  as  its  complement — if 


119 

"  equal  privileges  "  were  to  be  allowed  to  students  of  every 
denomination  of  Christians — that  the  standards  of  all  these 
denominations  should  also  be  studied.  The  Directors  of  the 
Seminary,  by  their  generous  but  mistaken  action  of  granting 
a  veto  over  the  appointment  of  their  professors  to  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  were  prevented  for 
twenty  years  from  making  any  further  advance  towards  their 
ideal.  But  soon  after  the  rescinding  of  that  act  the  Seminary 
opened  its  doors,  not  only  to  students,  but  to  Professors  and 
Directors  from  the  different  denominations.  Five  denomina- 
tions of  Christians  are  represented  in  our  Faculty  and  Board 
of  Directors,  and  the  standards  of  the  different  denominations 
are  taught  by  representatives  of  those  denominations  on  a 
footing  of  perfect  equality  with  the  teaching  of  the  standards 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Thus  Union  Seminary  carried 
out  its  ideal,  by  ruling  out  denominationalism  as  well  as  ec- 
clesiastical domination. 

These  wise  men  went  still  further.  They  saw  the  evils 
that  partisanship  and  party  strife  had  brought  upon  the  Pres- 
byterian Church,  and  also  upon  other  American  Churches,  by 
its  interminable  conflicts  and  divisions ;  and  they  were  de- 
termined to  separate  this  Seminary  from  them.  Their  ideal 
of  the  Seminary  as  expressed  in  our  Preamble  was  that  it 
should  be  one  "  around  which  all  men  of  moderate  views  and 
feelings,  who  desire  to  live  free  from  party  strife  may  cordi- 
ally and  affectionately  rally." 

It  must  be  said  that  this  Seminary  has  never  been  partisan. 
It  has  never  committed  itself  to  any  party  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church  or  in  any  other  Church.  Its  professors  have  been 
chiefly  independent  men,  differing  often  in  their  views  of 
doctrine  and  order.  The  students  have  indeed  heard  diverse 
opinions  on  the  same  subject  in  different  class  rooms.  The 
students  have  been  trained  to  think  for  themselves,  to  form 
their  own  opinions.  No  pressure  has  ever,  so  far  as  I  know, 
been  put  upon  them  to  adopt  the  opinion  of  any  one  Professor 
rather  than  of  another.  And  no  student  has  been  influenced 
to  change  his  ecclesiastical  position,  or  his  attitude  to  any 
burning  question  in  the  Church.  The  Professors  have  worked 
in  harmony  with  mutual  respect  and  recognition  of  differences. 
The  teaching  in  this  Seminary  has  ever  been  free  from  party 
strife,  and  the  Professors  have  been  usually  moderate  in  the 
expression  of  their  views  and  feelings.  There  have  been  times 
when  it  has  been  difficult  to  be  moderate,  and  I  cannot  say 
that  I  or  others  have  always  been  as  temperate  as  we  should 


120 

have  been.  But  I  can  affirm  that  the  Seminary,  as  a  body, 
and  in  all  its  official  acts,  has  been  faithful  to  the  ideal  of 
moderation  of  our  Founders. 

The  Seminary  has  not  escaped  from  conflict.  It  has  been 
obliged  to  defend  itself  against  wanton  attacks,  and  its  Pro- 
fessors have  been  forced  into  ecclesiastical  contests  of  more 
or  less  severity,  from  the  foundation  of  the  Seminary  to  the 
present  time.  But  such  conflicts  have  not  in  the  least  turned 
the  Seminary  from  its  great  ideals  of  moderation,  peace  and 
unity.  We  stand  for  these  things  to-day,  just  as  we  have 
always  done. 

Everyone  who  knows  our  history  must  say  that  the  Di- 
rectors of  this  Seminary  have  stood  manfully  by  the  Faculty 
for  the  rights  of  Christian  scholarship  and  for  the  free  un- 
trammeled  search  for  the  Truth,  and  they  have  not  abandoned 
in  any  respect  their  practical  aims.  The  three  constituent  ele- 
ments of  theological  education  are  not  inconsistent,  but  com- 
plementary. Personal  piety,  the  Truth  for  the  Truth's  sake, 
and  the  service  of  the  Church  are  unified  in  God,  our  Creator 
and  Saviour.  Theology  can  have  no  other  final  aim  than  God 
Himself,  communion  with  God,  knowledge  of  God,  and  the 
service  of  God. 

I.     True  Piety 

"  True  Piety "  or  "  Vital  godliness  well  proved "  is  the 
fundamental  and  most  essential  element  in  the  study  of  Theol- 
ogy. Our  junior  Professor  was  entirely  correct  when  in 
answer  to  the  question:  "Can  Religion  be  taught?"  he  said 
in  his  Inaugural  Address : 

"  Only  a  mind  that  is  already  religious  can  be  taught  reli- 
gion. A  teacher  cannot  impart  any  absolutely  new  interest 
into  the  mind;  he  can  only  intensify  an  interest  already  there, 
or  extend  the  application  of  it.  Aristotle  is  right :  the  teaching 
of  virtue  presupposes  virtue  in  the  pupil,  and  the  teaching  of 
religion  presupposes  religion  in  the  pupil." 

So  our  great  theologian  Henry  B.  Smith  said  many  years 
ago :  "  A  true  religion  and  a  true  theology  are,  in  advanced 
culture,  inseparable.  True  religion  cannot  be  preserved  with- 
out a  true  theology ;  nor  can  there  be  a  vital  theology  without 
a  vital  religious  experience."  {Introduction  to  the  Study  of 
Theology,  p.  55.) 

And  both  reiterate  the  words  of  St.  Paul,  "  The  natural 
man  receiveth  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  for  they  are 


121 

foolishness  unto  him ;  neither  can  he  know  because  they  are 
spiritually  discerned."     (I,  Cor.  ii :  14.) 

Theological  education  like  all  higher  education  presup- 
poses preparatory  studies.  The  theological  student  must  be 
prepared  in  vital  religion  as  well  as  in  knowledge.  He  comes 
to  the  study  of  theology  with  the  scholar's  degree,  or  its 
equivalent,  which  he  has  earned  by  long  and  patient  study. 
But  even  more  essential  than  that,  he  comes  with  "  vital  god- 
liness well  proved  "  and  attested  by  credible  evidence.  Only 
such  a  man  is  competent  for  a  student  of  theology. 

The  Theological  Seminary  has  as  one  of  its  aims,  the  de- 
velopment of  vital  piety.  This  is  one  of  the  reasons  why 
Theological  Seminaries  were  established  apart  from  and  in- 
dependent of  Universities,  because  the  study  of  theology  in 
the  University  tends  to  become  merely  intellectual  and  scholas- 
tic. The  provisions  necessary  for  the  development  of  that 
kind  and  degree  of  Christian  piety  necessary  to  the  Christian 
minister  are  not  so  easily  made,  where  the  theological  stu- 
dents are  in  the  minority  in  a  mass  of  all  kinds  and  conditions 
of  man,  as  where  they  are  kept  apart  by  themselves.  These 
evils  are  not  imaginary  but  real.  The  Church  has  suffered 
from  them  many  times  in  its  history,  especially  in  the  scholastic 
period  of  the  Middle  Ages  and  in  the  scholastic  period  of 
Protestantism. 

The  Council  of  Trent  saw  the  necessity  for  the  education 
of  candidates  for  the  ministry  in  Seminaries  apart  from  the 
Universities,  and  by  this  provision  did  much  to  save  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  from  ruin,  and  bring  about  what  is 
known  as  the  Counter  Reformation.  So  the  Protestant 
Churches  of  Germany,  Great  Britain,  and  America  have  been 
obliged  to  organize  Theological  Seminaries  to  do  that  which 
the  Universities  did  not  or  could  not  do — give  the  practical 
training  necessary  for  the  ministry  of  the  Church. 

But,  if  there  are  perils  in  the  study  of  theology  in  the  Uni- 
versities, there  are  perils  just  as  great  in  the  isolation  of 
theologians  in  Theological  Seminaries.  It  is  recognized  by 
many  of  the  best  scholars  in  the  Roman  Church  that  the  iso- 
lation of  theological  students  has  produced  a  multitude  of  evils. 
It  is  really  the  introduction  of  monastic  methods  for  the  train- 
ing of  the  secular  priesthood.  It  takes  them  out  of  the  world 
for  a  series  of  years,  but  it  makes  it  difficult  for  them  ever  to 
return  to  their  lifework  in  the  world.  A  Roman  Catholic 
scholar  recently  told  me  that  he  came  back  to  America,  after 
many  years  of   such  isolation  in   Rome,   and   found  himself 


128 

altogether  unprepared  for  the  simplest  things  in  the  work  of  a 
parish  priest.  Such  a  training  may  develop  an  ascetic  type  of 
piety,  but  it  does  not  and  cannot  develop  that  practical  type 
of  piety  which  is  necessary  for  leadership  in  the  religious  life 
of  the  world. 

The  Protestant  Theological  Seminaries  have  not  gone  to 
such  extremes  as  the  Roman  Catholic,  but  not  a  few  of  them 
have  gone  far  in  that  direction,  and  it  should  be  said  that  the 
isolation  of  the  Theological  Seminary  ever  tends  towards  a 
self-centered  piety  and  one  of  a  mechanical  institutional  type. 

There  are  several  kinds  of  piety,  originating  in  the  religious 
experiences  of  the  several  different  temperaments  which  dis- 
tinguish mankind.  There  are  differences  in  piety  due  to  the 
experience  of  families,  of  religious  denominations,  of  nations 
and  even  of  races.  There  is  no  other  perfect  piety  than  that 
of  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour,  whose  piety  was  at  once  so  simple 
and  so  comprehensive  that  it  may  be  said  to  embrace  all  types 
in  harmonious  union.  But  that  cannot  be  said  of  his  apostles, 
or  of  the  ministry  and  people  of  the  Church  in  any  age  of 
the  world.  We  all  have  our  own  special  temperaments  and 
experiences.  These  inevitably  produce  dift'erences  in  piety, 
which  cannot  be  pressed  into  any  one  mould,  without  serious 
injury  to  the  growth  of  the  divine  life,  in  the  soul  of  man, 
and  in  his  activities  in  the  world.  The  tendency  of  Seminaries 
is  to  assume  a  special  type  of  doctrine,  so  also  to  manifest  a 
peculiar  type  of  piety.  Both  alike  are  injurious,  the  one  to  the 
scholar's  quest  for  Truth,  the  other  to  the  Christian's  life  in 
God. 

The  Founders  of  this  Seminary  saw  these  evils  in  the  The- 
ological Seminaries  of  their  day,  and  they  devised  a  very  ex- 
cellent method  of  overcoming  them.  Listen  to  their  wise 
words. 

"  The  Founders  of  this  Seminary  design  that  its  students, 
living  and  acting  under  pastoral  influence  and  performing  the 
important  duties  of  church  members  in  the  several  churches  to 
which  they  belong,  or  with  which  they  worship,  in  the  prayer- 
meetings,  in  the  instruction  of  Sabbath  schools  and  Bible 
classes,  and  being  conversant  with  all  social  benevolent  efforts 
in  this  important  location,  shall  have  the  opportunity  of  adding 
to  solid  learning  and  true  piety,  enlightened  experience." 

This  Seminary  was  in  its  original  design,  not  separated 
from  the  world,  but  deliberately  and  intelligently  planted  "  in 
the  midst  of  the  greatest  and  most  growing  community  in 
America  " ;  and  this  for  the  very  purpose  that  Faculty  and  stu- 


123 

dents  should  take  an  active  part  in  the  religious  life  of  the 
city,  and  that  their  piety  should  grow  in  its  practical  exercise 
in  all  kinds  of  religious  work. 

The  Seminary  does  indeed  make  provision  for  the  develop- 
ment of  the  piety  of  the  Faculty  and  students,  in  daily  and 
weekly  exercises  of  various  kinds,  some  conducted  by  the  Fac- 
ulty, others  organized  and  conducted  by  the  students  them- 
selves ;  all  of  which,  I  am  glad  to  say,  are  entirely  voluntary 
and  none  of  which  are  required.  And  so  there  is  every  oppor- 
tunity for  the  development  of  piety  without  any  pressure  to 
conform  to  any  special  type. 

But  the  Seminary  still  adheres  to  the  ideal  of  our  Founders 
that  the  best  religious  training  is  to  be  attained  not  in  the  iso- 
lation of  the  Seminary,  but  in  the  religious  life  of  the  city, 
under  the  supervision  of  the  pastors  of  our  city  churches  and 
the  leaders  in  all  kinds  of  religious  and  benevolent  service. 
The  students  have  the  same  liberty  of  choice  here,  as  in  other 
departments,  as  to  the  church  with  which  they  will  worship, 
and  the  kind  of  work  they  will  do,  and  the  nature  of  the  re- 
ligious exercises  they  will  undertake ;  but  this  is  an  essential 
part  of  their  study. 

Union  Theological  Seminary  is  not  isolated  from  the  great 
world,  but  it  is  in  it,  and  rejoices  to  be  of  it;  and  yet  we  may 
retire  from  the  world  as  much  as  we  please,  and  in  our  own 
Seminary,  consecrated  by  so  many  hallowed  associations,  we 
may  be  as  mystic  as  we  wish,  or  ascetic,  as  anyone  will,  with- 
out hindrance  from  anyone  or  anything.  The  most  marked 
features  of  the  alumni  of  this  Seminary  is  that  they  are  Chris- 
tian zvorkers.  Their  piety  is  of  a  practical  kind,  and  yet  we 
have  had  among  them  mystics  of  the  best  type,  such  as  the 
Missionary  Bowen  of  India,  and  our  late  President,  Charles 
Cuthbert  Hall. 


2.    Full  and  Thorough  Education — Solid  Learning 

These  are  the  terms  that  our  Founders  used  to  indicate 
what  they  meant  by  theological  scholarship.  They  meant  by 
"  thorough  "  an  education  that  was  entire  and  complete,  as  op- 
posed to  an  incomplete  and  partial  education  advocated  by 
some  as  alone  important  for  the  practical  work  of  the  minis- 
try. And  so  they  say:  "  In  all  the  subjects  taught  in  the  best 
Theological  Seminaries  in  the  United  States."  They  designed 
this  Seminary  to  be  one  of  the  best  of  its  kind.     They  meant 


124 

by  "  solid  learning,"  learning  that  is  the  result  of  careful, 
painstaking,  scholarly  investigation,  that  is  firmly  embedded  in 
the  rock  of  eternal  truth — Solid  learning,  that  is,  as  they  say, 
"  aloof  from  all  extremes  of  doctrinal  speculation." 

The  greatest  curse  of  theological  scholarship  is  the  "  ex- 
tremes of  doctrinal  speculation."  These  have  always  made 
mischief  in  the  Church.  They  have  urged  the  Church  to 
premature  scholastic  definitions  of  doctrine  in  order  to  ex- 
clude them,  which,  while  trying  to  mediate  between  the  ex- 
tremes, yet  became  themselves  doctrinal  speculations.  These 
extremes  have  brought  about  almost  all  of  the  religious  wars 
of  Christian  history,  and  have  ever  produced  most  serious  evils 
to  Christian  scholarship,  which  often  has  been  crushed  between 
their  upper  and  nether  millstones. 

Speculation  has  its  proper  place  and  importance  in  Theology 
as  in  other  departments  of  human  knowledge;  but  it  is  only 
proper  when  it  builds  on  the  solid  rock  of  the  most  thorough 
knowledge  thus  far  attained,  in  order  to  reach  out  towards  the 
unapproachable  and  unknown.  It  is  the  cheap  and  easy  way 
of  the  speculator  to  jump  at  his  conclusions  and  to  mock  at 
the  patient  plodding  scholar,  who  builds  up  his  material  by 
the  use  of  all  the  resources  of  sound  methods.  He  springs 
lightly  over  the  obstacles  that  lie  in  his  way  until  at  last,  with 
incautious  self-confidence,  he  stumbles  over  something  unob- 
served, and  falls  into  the  pit  of  destruction.  A  little  patience 
with  speculators  and  they  destroy  themselves. 

I  shall  not  say  that  all  of  our  Professors  have  always  kept 
themselves  free  from  such  speculations.  But  I  do  afiirm  that 
this  Seminary  as  a  body  has  stood  firmly  by  the  Preamble  in 
this  respect  as  well  as  in  others,  and  that  sound  scholarship 
has  been  the  characteristic  of  our  institution.  In  the  early 
days  of  this  Seminary  instruction  was  as  full  as  it  was  prac- 
ticable to  make  it,  with  the  limited  number  of  Professors ;  and 
the  Faculty  and  students  were  quite  as  industrious  as  they  are 
at  present. 

Edward  Robinson  gave  this  Seminary  a  reputation  for  Bib- 
lical scholarship  that  it  has  never  lost.  Henry  Boynton  Smith 
and  Roswell  D.  Hitchcock  advanced  the  study  of  Church  His- 
tory to  the  high  level  it  has  ever  since  maintained.  When  Henry 
B.  Smith  undertook  the  Chair  of  Systematic  Theology  he 
made  Faith  and  Philosophy  inseparable  and  christologized  the 
entire  system  of  Christian  doctrine.  Thomas  H.  Skinner  led 
the  choir  of  saintly  men,  William  Adams,  George  Prentiss 
and  Thomas  S.  Hastings,  who  enveloped  Practical  Theology 


125 

with  a  halo  of  glory.  Time  would  fail  if  I  were  to  attempt 
to  tell  all  that  the  Faculty  of  this  Seminary  has  done  for  The- 
ology, as  in  linked  succession  they  have  striven,  often  in  pov- 
erty and  affliction,  to  realize  our  Ideal  of  Theology,  as  it  has 
gradually  unfolded  into  larger,  fuller  and  more  comprehensive 
ranges  of  study. 

The  field  of  Theology  is  now  so  vast  that  it  is  impossible 
to  cover  it  in  the  course  of  three  years'  study.  The  number 
of  years  of  study  is  no  greater  now  that  we  have  twenty-one 
teachers  than  seventy  years  ago  when  we  had  but  four.  We 
are  obliged  to  make  the  greater  part  of  our  teaching  elective. 
There  are  many  evils  involved  in  this  situation  just  as  there 
are  in  the  elective  systems  of  the  Colleges  and  the  Universities. 
It  is  difficult  to  draw  the  line  properly  between  what  is  elective 
and  what  is  required.  It  is  easier  to  make  all  elective  or  all 
required  than  to  pursue  the  middle  course. 

The  elective  system  encourages  students  to  take  the  easier 
and  more  interesting  courses  and  to  neglect  those  that  are 
difficult  and  technical ;  it  invites  him  to  specialize  without  suf- 
ficient general  knowledge  to  enable  him  to  specialize  aright ; 
it  inclines  him  to  the  exaggeration  of  those  things  in  which 
he  is  especially  interested  and  the  depreciation  of  everything 
else.  And  so  it  encourages  the  Professor  to  make  his  courses 
interesting  to  the  student  by  the  undue  use  of  rhetoric  at  the 
expense  of  logic;  it  invites  him  to  lecture  upon  subjects  in 
which  he  is  personally  interested  rather  than  upon  those  that 
will  be  most  useful  to  the  student ;  and  it  inclines  him  to  over- 
lap and  intrude  upon  other  departments,  and  to  overlook  and 
disregard  the  unity,  harmony  and  proper  proportions  of  the 
different  departments  of  study. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that,  in  the  required  courses  of 
half  a  century  ago,  the  student  had  usually  a  more  compre- 
hensive outline  knowledge  of  Theology  than  he  can  obtain 
to-day  by  even  the  wisest  selection  of  the  electives.  But  on 
the  other  hand  there  were  serious  omissions,  and  inadequate 
and  disproportionate  treatment,  in  those  days,  even  in  the  best 
institutions.  It  was  necessary  for  all  who  wished  to  make  any 
thorough  study  of  theology  to  go  to  the  universities  of  Eu- 
rope for  that  purpose.  At  the  present  time,  in  Union  Sem- 
inary at  least,  the  field  of  Theology  is  as  completely  covered 
as  in  any  university  of  Europe ;  and  every  method  of  instruc- 
tion used  whether  in  Germany,  France,  Great  Britain  or  Amer- 
ica, is  employed  by  one  or  more  of  our  professors.  We  com- 
bine the  use  of  text  books  and  lectures,  the  tutorial  method  of 


126 

the  English  Universities  with  the  Seminar  method  of  the 
Germans ;  the  popular  lecture  of  the  French  with  the  technical 
of  the  Dutch. 

The  field  of  study  is,  however,  so  vast  that  it  is  no  longer 
possible  for  the  theological  student  to  get  an  adequate  knowl- 
edge of  Theology  in  a  three  years'  course.  The  time  required 
for  the  study  of  Theology  has  not  been  increased  for  more  than 
a  century.  In  the  meantime  the  legal  and  medical  faculties 
have  increased  their  requirements  in  time  as  well  as  in  courses 
of  study. 

Union  Seminary  has  within  recent  years  organized  a  Grad- 
uate School  of  Theology,  in  which  resident  students  and  non- 
resident pastors  of  the  neighborhood  may  continue  their  stud- 
ies one,  two,  three,  four  years  or  more  with  the  opportunity  of 
winning  a  doctor's  degree  in  Theology  by  outstanding  merit. 

Thus  we  are  striving  to  rise  to  the  heights  of  our  ideal ; 
and  yet,  I  must  say,  that  in  many  things  we  still  fall  short. 
Our  present  splendid  plant  with  all  its  increased  opportunities 
is  none  too  large.  We  need  additions  to  our  Graduate  Fac- 
ulty, a  large  increase  in  our  Library  and  endowments  of  fel- 
lowships for  extended  study  and  research.  Theology  still 
abides  and  will  ever  remain  the  supreme  knowledge,  for  it  is 
the  knowledge  of  God  and  of  all  things  in  relation  to  God.  It 
uses  the  methods  and  results  of  Science  and  Philosophy  to 
sum  them  up  in  the  comprehensive  ideas  of  Theology.  It  has 
a  Canon  Law  and  a  pastoral  medicine  which  have  unfolded  in 
parallel  lines  with  the  Civil  Law  and  Medical  Science.  As  a 
late  theologian  of  Glasgow  so  well  says: 

"  No  knowledge  in  any  of  its  kinds  or  forms  is,  or  can  be, 
alien  to  theology  as  the  Science  of  God.  For  He  knows  all 
and  is  known  in  all,  and  rightly  interpreted,  all  knowledge  is 
knowledge  of  Him.  It  is  just  the  function  of  Theology  to 
theologize  knowledge,  to  give  it  its  last  and  highest  expression 
in  terms  of  God."     (Hastie,  Introd.,  p.  45.) 

J.    ^  Wholesale  Practical  Training 

The  study  of  Theology,  as  the  study  of  Law  and  Medicine, 
is  not  only  theoretical  but  practical.  It  not  only  has  in  view 
the  quest  for  truth  and  fact,  but  it  also  has  the  still  higher  aim 
of  using  the  facts  and  putting  the  truth  in  practice.  The  Fac- 
ulty of  Medicine  supplement  their  teaching  by  clinics  and 
service  in  hospitals.    The  Faculty  of  Law  add  to  legal  learn- 


137 

ing,  the  experience  of  moot  courts  and  service  under  approved 
lawyers,  before  admission  to  the  bar.  So  the  Theological  Fac- 
ulty add  to  their  teaching,  practical  exercises  for  the  training 
of  the  intending  minister  in  all  those  activities  which  are  nec- 
essary for  the  work  of  the  Church. 

Experience  teaches  us  that  while  there  is  peril  with  some 
students  that  they  may  be  distracted  from  their  scholarly  work 
by  practical  training,  the  peril  is  in  many  cases  the  other  way. 
It  is  sometimes  difficult  to  induce  students  to  attend  to  this 
practical  training  especially  when  it  is  made  optional.  Noth- 
ing is  more  needed  than  hard  study  and  technical  discipline 
in  wholesome  combination.  Long  years  of  study  in  school  and 
college  make  it  easy  and  natural  for  the  theological  student  to 
pursue  his  scholarly  studies ;  but  the  practical  training  is,  in 
large  part  at  least,  something  new  and  difficult,  which  he  does 
not  care  to  undertake  until  he  is  convinced  of  its  necessity. 

Our  Founders  wisely  provided  for  this  practical  training 
which  they  determined  should  be  "  wholesome,"  because  they 
wished  to  resist  and  overcome  that  "  practical  radicalisin " 
which  is  the  bane  of  all  religious  work.  The  Founders  were 
well-known  patrons  of  religious  revivals,  but  they  were  op- 
posed to  that  radicalism  which  in  their  days  would  make  re- 
vivals the  substitutes  for  the  regular  work  of  the  Church. 
They  were  patrons  of  all  kinds  of  religious  and  benevolent 
institutions  designed  to  supplement  and  render  religious  activi- 
ties more  comprehensive;  but  they  were  opposed  to  that  rad- 
icalism which  would  substitute  any  of  these  for  the  historic 
work  of  the  Christian  ministry. 

When  we  consider  what  the  Christian  minister  really  has 
to  do  in  the  practice  of  Theology,  we  are  overwhelmed  with 
the  amount  of  labor  necessary  to  give  that  "  wholesome  prac- 
tical training  "  that  he  needs. 

The  Christian  minister  is  the  representative  of  Jesus  Christ 
in  his  offices  of  prophet,  priest  and  king;  and  is  at  once  a 
Church  governor,  a  pastor,  and  a  preacher.  As  a  church  gov- 
ernor, he  must  practice  ecclesiastical  law,  and  be  the  counsellor 
of  his  people  in  all  matters  of  religion ;  and  he  must  be  pre- 
pared to  plead  at  the  bar  of  ecclesiastical  courts,  or  sit  therein 
as  a  judge  of  the  most  important  matters.  As  a  pastor  he 
must  go  about  from  house  to  house  to  administer  pastoral 
medicine,  and  he  must  conduct  the  worship  of  the  people  and 
administer  the  sacraments  for  their  soul's  good.  As  a  prophet 
he  has  to  teach  in  public  and  in  private,  dealing  with  all  classes 
and  ages  in  every  grade  of  intellectual  advancement,  and  adapt 


128 

his  teaching  to  the  capacity  of  all.  He  needs  all  the  resources 
of  logic,  rhetoric  and  oratory  to  stir  the  religious  emotions  of 
his  people,  persuade  them  to  action,  and  lead  them  in  those 
duties  and  privileges  necessary  to  the  development  of  their 
Christian  life.  He  must  furthermore  be  a  man  of  affairs,  of 
some  executive  ability,  with  sound  judgment  and  nice  discrim- 
ination in  the  common  affairs  of  life.  He  must  interest  him- 
self in  every  movement  for  good — political,  social,  economical, 
educational — that  will  improve  the  condition  of  his  people.  He 
must  have  sufficient  general  culture  to  prevent  him  from  mis- 
takes in  his  discourses  or  in  his  conversation  upon  the  topics 
of  the  day.  He  should  know  something  of  church  architecture, 
music,  instrumental  and  vocal;  and  of  choice  literature;  and 
in  many  religious  bodies  also,  of  painting  and  sculpture,  and 
instruct  in  their  religious  uses. 

Who  is  sufficient  for  these  things  ?  How  is  it  possible  for 
any  man  to  be  such  a  comprehensive  thinker  and  worker — 
lawyer,  physician,  teacher,  preacher,  artist  and  man  of  affairs? 
It  is  impossible,  and  yet  the  people  are  often  so  unreasonable 
as  to  look  for  just  this  encyclopaedic  ability  in  their  minister. 
The  "  wholesome  practical  training  "  that  the  Christian  minis- 
ter needs  has  grown  in  recent  times  to  as  great  an  extent  as 
solid  learning.  The  same  necessity  for  an  elective  course,  and 
the  prolongation  of  years  of  study  arises  in  the  practical  part 
of  our  work  as  in  the  scientific.  It  is  evident  that  it  is  no 
longer  possible  for  any  one  man  to  fulfil  all  the  requirements 
for  a  Christian  minister.  The  time  is  rapidly  passing  when 
congregations  will  be  content  with  the  services  of  one  man. 
The  splitting  up  of  the  people  into  little  denominational  con- 
gregations, which  has  gone  to  such  extremes  in  modern 
Protestantism  in  this  country,  has  brought  the  Church  into  the 
gravest  perils  because  of  the  inability  of  the  ministry  to  do  the 
work  required  of  them.  As  they  vainly  strive  to  do  every- 
thing, they  often  fail  to  succeed  in  anything. 

There  must  be  a  consoHdation  on  such  a  grand  scale  as  to 
be  nothing  else  than  revolutionary.  The  small  congregations 
must  be  consolidated  into  great  ones,  and  the  denominational 
congregations  must  unite  into  comprehensive  Christian 
churches  served  by  a  presbytery  of  ministers.  This  is  the  an- 
cient way,  and  that  of  Christianity  in  the  greater  part  of  its 
history,  and  so  it  is  demanded  again  by  the  economic  forces 
of  our  age  as  well  as  by  the  necessity  for  a  complete  Christian 
service.  Then  there  will  be  one  minister  as  the  executive  man 
of  affairs,  versed  in  ecclesiastical  law,  another  in  pastoral  af- 


129 

fairs,  another  a  skilful  teacher,  still  another  a  soul-stirring 
preacher,  others  active  Christian  workers — a  well-organized 
and  equipped  body  of  Christian  ministers. 

This  may  be  difficult  in  villages  where  a  single  minister 
may  be  all  that  it  is  possible  to  support,  but  in  these  there  are 
not  the  same  extensive  demands  for  variety  of  work  as  in 
cities;  and  the  smaller  congregations  may  be  associated  with 
others  in  neighboring  villages,  and  so  several  ministers  may 
be  helpful  to  each  other  in  their  various  gifts. 

A  "  wholesome  practical  training "  presupposes  certain 
aptitudes  given  to  a  man  by  birth  or  in  regeneration.  Experi- 
ence shows  that  several  different  aptitudes  do  not,  except  in 
rare  instances,  exist  in  any  one  man.  The  man  himself  does 
not  ordinarily  become  conscious  of  his  gifts  until  a  certain 
amount  of  education  and  training  has  brought  them  out. 
Therefore  a  general  training  should  precede  specialization,  as 
for  the  physician  and  the  lawyer. 

If  the  one  purpose  of  the  Theological  Seminary  were  to 
train  preachers  of  the  Gospel,  we  might  concentrate  the  whole- 
some practical  training  upon  that.  The  prophetic  office  is  re- 
garded as  the  chief  function  of  the  Christian  minister  in 
Protestant  churches,  emphasized  because  of  its  neglect  before 
the  Reformation. 

St.  Paul  tells  us  that  it  "  pleased  God  by  the  foolishness  of 
preaching  to  save  them  that  believe  "  and  that  "  the  preaching 
of  Christ  is  the  power  of  God  and  the  Wisdom  of  God."  We 
cannot  exaggerate  the  importance  of  training  the  intending 
minister  in  the  preaching  of  the  everlasting  gospel  of  Christ. 

At  the  same  time  it  is  evident  that  many  of  the  most  pious 
and  gifted  men  can  never  become  real  preachers.  A  preacher 
is  born  with  certain  natural  gifts  and  graces  which  cannot  be 
given  by  any  education  or  training  whatever.  Many  of  the 
best  students  do  not  succeed  in  the  ministry  because  they  have 
not  the  gift  of  preaching  demanded  by  the  people ;  and  there 
is  no  sufficient  provision  in  most  congregations,  as  at  present 
organized,  for  the  employment  of  the  gifts  with  which  these 
ministers  are  endowed.  The  exclusive  emphasis  laid  upon  this 
part  of  the  work  of  the  ministry  and  the  neglect  of  other  parts 
is  rapidly  emptying  our  churches  of  intelligent  people ;  because 
there  are  few  ministers  capable  of  holding  their  attention  by 
their  sermons. 

Everyone  knows  the  difficulty  of  procuring  preachers  of  a 
high  order  for  important  positions.  It  is  not  that  the  average 
is  any  lower  than  in  former  times,  but  that  there  is  a  much 


130 

higher  standard  to  which  fewer  can  attain.  The  reasonable 
way  to  overcome  this  difficulty  is  to  have  fewer  preachers  and 
better  ones.  Let  the  fewer  preachers  address  larger  congre- 
gations into  which  the  smaller  ones  should  be  consolidated, 
and  let  the  main  body  of  the  ministry  devote  themselves  to 
other  forms  of  ministerial  work  just  as  important  for  the 
growth  of  the  Church  as  preaching.  Those  that  have  the  gift 
of  preaching  should  receive  a  richer  and  larger  practical  train- 
ing. This  our  noble  Director,  the  late  Morris  K.  Jesup,  saw 
when  he  endowed  a  Graduate  Chair  for  the  higher  training  of 
preachers  in  this  Seminary,  in  order  that  students  so  gifted 
might  spend  several  additional  years  both  in  theoretical  and 
disciplinary  training  for  the  prophetic  work  of  the  Christian 
ministry. 

The  Christian  prophet  has  two  functions — that  of  teaching 
and  that  of  preaching.  Some  men  excel  in  one  of  these  gifts, 
some  in  the  other.  Few  can  be  successful  in  both.  The  orig- 
inal Presbyterian  and  Congregational  Churches  in  Great  Brit- 
ain and  America  had  often  two  ministers,  the  one  a  teacher, 
the  other  a  preacher.  The  preacher  and  teacher  have  quite 
different  gifts,  training  and  aims.  The  teacher  aims  to  in- 
struct the  mind  of  his  auditors  that  they  may  observe  and 
think.  The  preacher  aims  at  the  will  and  the  emotions,  in 
order  to  arouse  the  people  and  stimulate  them  to  action.  The 
preacher  is  trained  to  use  all  the  resources  of  rhetoric  and 
oratory  to  accomplish  his  purpose.  The  teacher  uses  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  science  of  education.  The  teacher  must  be  more 
thoroughly  trained  as  a  specialist  in  the  subject  he  has  to 
teach.  The  preacher  needs  a  more  general  training,  especially 
in  choice  literature  and  the  fine  arts.  The  department  of 
Christian  pedagogy  has  ordinarily  been  neglected  in  the  The- 
ological Seminaries,  but  I  am  happy  to  say  that  the  most  re- 
cent addition  to  our  Faculty  in  the  Skinner  and  McAlpin  Chair 
amply  provides  for  "  wholesome  practical  training "  in  this 
department  also. 

There  are  ample  opportunities  in  this  city  for  training  in 
the  practical  work  of  Sunday  Schools,  Bible  Classes,  City  Mis- 
sions, Young  People's  Associations,  benevolent  enterprises  of 
various  kinds.  Charity  Organizations  and  Settlement  Work. 
Through  the  munificence  of  the  widow  of  one  of  our  most 
honored  Directors,  we  have  an  ample  endowment  for  the  over- 
sight of  this  kind  of  work,  and  the  students  are  ready  enough 
to  undertake  training  in  these  interesting  fields. 

It  is  in  the  more  strictly  professional  activities  of  the  min- 


131 

ister  as  physician  of  souls  and  church  governor  that  there  is 
the  least  "  wholesome  practical  training  "  in  our  Theological 
Seminaries.  This  is  not  due  to  any  fault  in  the  teaching  of 
Pastoral  Theology,  which,  from  the  foundation  of  the  Sem- 
inary until  the  present  day,  has  been  in  the  hands  of  veteran 
pastors  of  our  leading  city  churches,  but  to  circumstances 
which  we  have  not  yet  been  able  to  control.  The  rise  and 
growth  of  Christian  Science,  Faith  Cure  and  other,  the  like 
"  practical  radicalisms "  are  the  revenges  of  human  nature 
against  the  neglect  of  pastoral  medicine  by  the  Christian 
ministry.  They  can  only  be  overcome  by  the  recognition 
of  all  that  is  good  in  them,  and  by  the  wholesome  practical 
training  of  intending  ministers  in  the  work  of  the  Christian 
priest. 

The  work  of  the  minister  as  a  Church  governor  has  always 
been  considered  theoretically  in  lectures  on  Church  govern- 
ment, but  no  adequate  provision  yet  exists  for  a  thorough 
practical  training  in  the  law,  discipline  and  government  of  the 
Church.  I  can  from  long  experience  in  ecclesiastical  courts 
testify  to  the  evil  results  of  so  great  ignorance  of  the  practice 
of  the  law  and  discipline  of  the  Church.  It  is  folly  to  have 
canons  of  law  and  books  of  Discipline  when  the  government 
of  the  Church  is  put  in  the  hands  of  men  who  have  little  if 
any  knowledge  of  them. 

A  theoretical  knowledge  of  the  work  of  the  minister  as 
pastor  and  Church  governor  is  as  insufficient  as  theoretical 
knowledge  is  to  the  physician  and  the  lawyer.  It  is  difficult, 
however,  to  give  this  kind  of  practical  training  to  the  intending 
minister  in  the  Seminary,  for  we  naturally  shrink  from  merely 
trial  exercises,  or  any  kind  of  unreality,  in  our  service  of  God. 
Furthermore,  the  Churches  forbid  the  most  important  of  these 
exercises  to  any  but  those  whom  they  have  licensed  or  or- 
dained. We  have  been  trying  for  some  years  to  make  ar- 
rangements for  the  service  of  our  students  as  assistant  min- 
isters after  graduation,  in  order  that  they  may  thus  have 
their  practical  training  in  the  real  work  of  the  Church,  while 
they  continue  their  scholarly  study  in  the  Graduate  Depart- 
ment. This  is  the  ideal  for  which  we  are  striving.  But  it  is 
evident  that  funds  are  required  for  the  support  of  such  assist- 
ant ministers  either  by  endowments  in  connection  with  the 
Seminary  or  appropriations  by  the  Churches  themselves.  The 
Churches  are  improving  in  this  respect,  in  some  denominations 
more  than  others ;  and  we  may  hope  that  in  time  we  may  thus 
overcome  our  remaining  defects  and  give  the  theological  stu- 


132 

dent  a  complete  "  wholesome  practical  training  "  for  the  Chris- 
tian ministry. 

The  success  of  the  kingdom  of  God  in  this  world  depends 
in  great  measure  upon  the  practical  efficiency  of  the  Christian 
ministry.  If  one  considers  how  far  short  the  education  and 
training  of  the  average  minister  falls  from  the  ideal,  and  how 
incomplete  even  the  best-trained  man  is,  in  view  of  the  im- 
mensity of  the  work  of  the  ministry  as  a  whole,  it  is  surprising 
that  the  Church  is  so  successful  as  it  is.  We  recognize  with 
the  apostle  that  ''  we  have  the  treasure  of  the  divine  grace  in 
earthen  vessels  that  the  excellence  of  the  power  may  be  of 
God  and  not  of  us."  We  know  that  God  will  fill  these  vessels 
to  their  utmost  capacity  with  this  treasure  if  only  we  will  use 
them  in  giving  it  to  our  fellowmen.  "  For  we  are  laborers  to- 
gether with  God." 

There  is  no  labor  so  difficult  and  yet  so  inspiring  as  to 
work  for  the  eternal  salvation  of  our  fellowmen.  Nothing  can 
be  so  awful,  and  yet  so  joyful,  as  to  labor  together  with  God. 
To  take  part  with  the  Supreme  Being  in  the  accomplishment 
of  this  divine  purpose  is  the  greatest  of  honors,  and  in  itself 
the  supreme  reward. 

Conclusion 

The  ideal  of  the  study  of  Theology  comprehends  the  three 
constituents,  "  vital  piety,"  "  sound  learning,"  and  "  whole- 
some practical  training  " ;  it  involves  that  these  shall  be  inter- 
twined in  just  and  harmonious  proportions,  and  that  all  the 
great  variety  in  these  departments  shall  be  summed  up  in  a 
higher  unity.  This  is  the  work  of  Theological  Encyclopaedia, 
which  does  not  indeed  attempt  to  give  a  summary  statement 
of  the  contents  of  all  types  of  religion,  all  theological  learning 
and  all  Church  work;  but  does  strive  to  do  the  formal  work 
of  organizing  them  all  into  a  complete  and  harmonious  sys- 
tem, in  which  each  department  will  receive  its  just  place  and 
importance,  without  detriment  to  itself  or  intrusion  upon  oth- 
ers. It  also  sets  forth  the  varied  and  distinctive  methods  for 
the  study  of  Theology,  and  the  helps,  literary  and  otherwise, 
necessary  to  do  the  work. 

This  Seminary  has  had  an  introductory  course  in  Encyclo- 
paedia for  nearly  forty  years,  entitled  by  its  first  teacher.  Dr. 
Philip  Schaff,  Propcedeutic  or  Introduction  to  the  Study  of 
Theology;  but  it  was  not  until  the  Graduate  Department  was 
established,  by  the  appointment  of  the  present  encumbent  to 


133 

the  first  Chair  in  the  Graduate  Faculty,  that  the  higher  work 
of  Theological  Encyclopaedia  was  undertaken,  of  summing  up 
the  whole  work  of  Theology  into  a  higher  unity. 

And  just  here  it  is  important  to  speak  of  the  Library  of 
the  Seminary,  which  is,  or  ought  to  be,  Theological  Encyclo- 
paedia embodied  in  Literature.  We  have  a  Library  which  is 
one  of  the  richest  in  the  world  in  some  departments  of  The- 
ology, and  one  of  the  poorest  in  others.  The  poverty  is  due 
to  the  fact  that  the  funds  at  the  disposal  of  the  Directors  for 
the  Library  have  always  been  so  meagre.  The  richness  is 
owing  to  the  purchase,  by  the  Founders,  of  the  Van  Ess  Li- 
brary, the  most  valuable  theological  library  that  has  ever 
crossed  the  ocean ;  and  to  the  special  gifts  of  many  honored 
givers,  the  chief  of  whom  are  the  late  Director,  David  H. 
AIcAlpin,  and  his  children,  continued  for  the  past  forty  years. 
Nothing  is  more  needed  than  funds  to  supply  the  deficiencies 
of  the  Library  and  make  it  adequate  for  the  use  of  the  Fac- 
ulty and  students  in  the  harmonious  proportions  that  the  ideal 
of  Theological  Study  requires,  and  to  make  it  more  fully  what 
it  has  always  been,  the  theological  section  of  the  Public  Li- 
braries of  the  city. 

There  was  attached  to  the  Chair  of  Encyclopaedia,  Sym- 
bolics or  Comparative  Theology,  which  rises  above  all  the 
differences  of  religious  denominations  into  that  higher  unity 
in  which  they  agree,  and  endeavors  to  consider  their  differ- 
ences in  religion,  doctrine  and  institution  from  an  irenic  point 
of  view.  That  is  especially  necessary  for  this  Seminary,  which 
claims  to  be  something  better  than  undenominational  or  inter- 
denominational:  namely,  as  the  late  statesman  bishop,  Henry 
Codman  Potter,  delighted  in  saying  "  supradenominational." 

What  Comparative  Theology  stands  for  as  regards  the 
Christian  religion.  Comparative  Religion  represents  for  all  the 
other  religions  of  the  world.  We  must  recognize  that  the  great 
mass  of  mankind,  now  as  well  as  for  the  millenniums  of  the 
history  of  our  race,  have  been  religious  in  the  exercise  of  other 
types  of  piety,  in  thinking  other  kinds  of  doctrine,  and  em- 
ploying other  practical  measures  than  those  familiar  to  us  in 
the  Christian  religion. 

The  Theological  Seminary  cannot  safely  ignore  these  other 
Religions.  They  must  be  studied  with  a  sympathetic  spirit, 
glad  to  recognize  all  that  is  good  and  valid  in  them,  and  with 
the  same  irenic  purpose  that  is  necessary  to  reconcile  the  dif- 
ferences existing  in  the  Christian  Church.  We  cannot  any 
longer  take  the  position,  born  of  ignorance,  that  God  has  lim- 


134 

ited  the  bestowal  of  His  grace  to  those  who  are  Christians. 
We  cannot  Hmit  the  influence  of  the  divine  Spirit  to  Christian 
lands.  We  see  in  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour  "  the  true  Light, 
which  coming  into  the  world,  lighteth  every  man"  (John  i: 
9).  We  are  assured  with  St.  Peter  that  "in  every  nation  he 
that  feareth  God  and  worketh  righteousness  is  accepted  with 
him"  (Acts  x:  35). 

How  can  Christianity  be  the  universal  religion  unless  it 
recognizes,  with  St.  Clement,  that  the  Philosophy  of  the  Greeks 
was  as  truly  a  preparation  for  Christianity  as  the  Law  of  the 
Hebrews :  and  that  the  practice  of  ancient  Israel  of  taking  up 
into  the  Old  Covenant  Religion  elements  of  good,  especially 
from  the  Babylonian  and  Persian  religions,  and  of  the  ancient 
Church  in  appropriating  from  the  Greek,  Roman  and  Oriental 
Religions  valuable  material,  is  the  true  and  wise  course  for 
modern  Christianity  to  adopt,  by  enlarging  this  theory  and 
practice  so  as  to  comprehend  all  of  the  Religions  of  the  world. 
They  are  all  in  their  way  preparatory  for  Christianity,  and 
will,  as  we  anticipate,  eventually  be  absorbed  into  a  higher, 
broader  and  more  perfect  Christianity,  that  will  be  world-wide 
in  its  conception,  and  which  will  think  nothing  alien  to  it  that 
is  proper  for  union  and  communion  with  God. 

The  Graduate  Department  is  not  limited  to  the  compre- 
hensive studies  thus  far  mentioned,  but  embraces  advanced 
work  in  all  departments.  Biblical  and  Historical.  Doctrines  of 
Faith  and  morals,  theoretical  and  practical,  where  the  Pro- 
fessors are  at  work,  busy  as  bees,  searching  the  foundations, 
and  all  that  has  thus  far  been  acquired,  by  the  exact  methods 
of  sound  philosophy  and  scientific  criticism,  to  extract  the 
honey  of  wisdom,  conserving  all  that  is  real,  true  and  valid, 
and  eliminating  it  from  all  that  cannot  endure  the  tests  of 
truth  and  righteousness,  reaching  out  in  all  directions  to  win 
everything  that  is  right  and  good  for  the  service  of  God.  I 
have  mentioned  the  more  comprehensive  studies  because  they 
have  their  special  place  and  importance  for  the  Graduate 
School  of  Theology. 

It  is  just  this  expansion  of  Theology  into  such  a  great 
number  of  studies,  overlapping  and  entwined  with  so  many 
other  departments  of  human  learning,  that  makes  it  imprac- 
ticable any  longer  to  conduct  the  study  of  Theology  apart  from 
the  Universities.  The  Theological  Seminary  and  the  Univer- 
sity are  in  mutual  need  of  each  other.  When  this  became  evi- 
dent a  few  years  ago,  relations  of  courtesy  and  mutual  help 
were  established  between  this  Seminary  and  Columbia  Uni- 


135 

versity,  largely  owing  to  the  wisdom  of  our  Director,  the  Hon- 
orable Seth  Low.  This  was  subsequently  extended  to  the  New 
York  University  and  to  other  institutions  also.  While  these 
relations  are  valuable  to  undergraduates  they  are  still  more 
valuable  to  graduates.  For  it  is  just  in  the  higher  and  more 
comprehensive  ranges  of  Theology  that  relations  with  the 
University  become  necessary.  It  is  indeed  an  important  part 
of  the  work  of  Theological  Encyclopaedia  to  consider  the  re- 
lation of  all  education  to  Theology,  in  the  most  comprehensive 
classification  of  all  knowledge,  professions  and  arts. 

The  sad  warfare  that  has  too  often  been  waged  between 
the  partisans  of  Theology  and  Science  has  no  place  in  the 
higher  ranges  of  Theology.  It  could  never  have  taken  place 
except  upon  its  lower  levels.  The  ideal  of  Christian  Theolog}' 
is  to  recognize  all  that  is  good  and  useful  in  all  human  knowl- 
edge, in  all  human  activities  and  in  all  life,  and  to  build  all  into 
a  temple  of  divine  Wisdom. 

Theology  is  now,  as  ever  she  must  be,  divine  knowledge. 
She  is  by  nature,  as  the  daughter  of  God,  gentle,  patient,  lov- 
ing, and  most  gracious,  welcoming  all  learning  and  all  workers 
of  good  to  the  feast  prepared  in  her  hospitable  palace.  But 
she  has  been  too  often  misrepresented  by  evil  spirits,  who  have 
for  a  season  usurped  her  place. 

An  ancient  Hebrew  sage  saw  a  counterfeit  of  Wisdom 
seated  upon  a  lofty  seat  at  the  door  of  her  house,  ignorant  and 
clamorous,  with  loud,  imperative  voice,  urging  the  passer-by 
to  turn  in  and  drink  of  her  stolen  waters  and  eat  of  her  secret, 
soul-destroying  bread.  Divine  Wisdom  herself  is  busy  in  her 
palace  providing  a  feast  for  her  guests.  She  sends  forth  her 
maidens  with  the  invitation : 

"  Come,  eat  of  my  bread  and  drink  of  the  wine  I  have  mingled. 
Forsake  Folly  and  live ;  and  go  in  the  way  of  understanding." 

(Prov.  ix:5). 

And  so  St.  Paul  conceives  of  the  household  of  God,  the  em- 
bodiment of  Christian  theology,  as : 

"  Built  upon  the  foundation  of  apostles  and  prophets,  Christ 
Jesus  Himself  being  the  chief  corner-stone ;  in  whom  each 
several  building,  fitly  framed  together,  groweth  into  an  holy 
temple  in  the  Lord ;  in  whom  ye  also  are  builded  together  for 
a  habitation  of  God  in  the  Spirit."     (Eph.  ii :  20-22.) 

Our  Founders  may  have  had  this  passage  in  mind  in  their 
ideal,  for  it  is  a  Theology  at  once  vital,  constructive  and  effi- 
cient— vital  in  union  and  communion  with  God  in  the  Spirit — 


136 

constructive,  building  on  Jesus  Christ  as  chief,  and  on  apostolic 
foundations,  and  on  all  teachers  and  workers  in  all  ages ;  their 
several  buildings  all  fitly  framed  together  in  comprehensive 
unity — and  practically  efficient:  growing  ever  higher  and  larger 
into  that  completeness  and  perfection  of  structure  worthy  of 
the  God  of  Glory  and  of  Grace. 


VIII 
THE    RESPONSES    AT    THE    DINNER 


THE    RESPONSES   AT   THE    DINNER 

Mr.  Robert  C.  Ogden  : 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen,  Faculty,  Alumni,  and  Students  of  the 
Union  Theological  Seminary : 

I  have  to  say  to  you  all  on  behalf  of  the  Board  of  Di- 
rectors at  this  close  of  a  remarkable  day  in  the  history  of  the 
Union  Theological  Seminary  that  we  as  a  Board  feel  under 
very  great  obligation  to  you  that  you  have  accepted  our  in- 
vitation for  this  evening's  enjoyment. 

The  day  has  been  a  remarkable  one.  Its  peculiar  features 
have  been  celebrated  in  public  address  at  the  new  buildings  of 
the  Seminary  to-day,  and  it  would  ill  become  me  to  undertake 
any  repetition  of  what  has  been  so  ably  said  already. 

At  the  outset  of  this  proceeding  this  evening  I  think  it 
would  be  well  to  drink  to  the  toast,  "  The  President  of  the 
United  States,"  and  before  calling  for  that  toast  I  desire  to 
state  a  word  or  two  about  the  present  incumbent  of  that  high 
office.  Last  Spring  we  called  upon  him  to  give  him  an  invita- 
tion to  be  here  to-night.  He  was  extremely  gratified  and  said 
he  would  be  delighted  to  come,  for  he  had  certain  things  in 
his  mind  on  the  subject  of  Religious  Education  that  he  would 
very  much  like  to  say  and  he  would  like  to  say  them  on  such 
a  propitious  occasion  as  this,  but  that  he  could  not  tell  then 
whether  he  would  be  able  to  attend  when  the  time  came.  From 
the  nature  of  that  conversation  I  was  prepared  for  a  disap- 
pointment, and  the  conspiracy  between  the  Panama  Canal  and 
the  Congress  of  the  United  States  so  worked  upon  him  that 
he  could  not  follow  the  bent  of  his  own  inclination  and  be 
with  us  to-night. 

He  has  sent  us  a  word  of  greeting,  however.  His  secretary 
writes  on  his  behalf : 

"  The  President  wishes  me  to  express  his  regret  at  his  in- 
ability to  accept.  He  is  working  at  great  pressure  on  his  an- 
nual message  and  it  would  simply  be  impossible  for  him  to 
leave  Washington  at  this  time." 

I   think  that   as  this   is   a  sort  of  Christian  Temperance 

139 


140 

Union  we  may  fill  our  glasses  with  pure  water,  and  drink  not 
only  to  the  office  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  but  to 
the  President. 

After  the  drinking  of  the  toast,  in  which  all  present  joined 
with  great  enthusiasm,  Mr.  Ogden  continued : 

The  Union  Theological  Seminary  has  been  honored  in  the 
proceedings  of  this  day  by  the  large  number  who  are  repre- 
sentatives of  other  institutions,  who  have  accepted  the  invita- 
tion to  be  present.  One  hundred  and  thirty-five  delegates 
from  other  institutions  of  learning  from  every  part  of  Amer- 
ica, and  some  not  from  America  have  been  here  with  us  to- 
day. Included  in  these  acceptances  we  have  responses  from 
Oxford,  and  from  Cambridge,  and  from  the  University  of 
Durham,  and  from  the  University  of  Manchester,  in  England ; 
we  have  them  from  the  University  of  Marburg,  in  Germany, 
together  with  a  number  of  sympathetic  and  interesting  letters 
and  many  acceptances  from  distinguished  scholars  in  Germany 
and  elsewhere,  other  than  those  I  have  referred  to.  We  there- 
fore feel  justified  in  claiming  for  the  Union  Theological  Sem- 
inary not  only  a  national  character  but  an  international  reputa- 
tion, and  we  are  certainly  gratified  at  the  sympathy  expressed 
through  our  sister  seminaries,  and  in  such  a  marked  degree 
by  the  great  universities  of  Europe. 

We  shall  hear  from  two  of  the  representatives  of  those 
universities,  one  of  them  the  honored  President  of  Columbia, 
the  other  the  Bishop  of  Massachusetts,  as  the  evening  pro- 
ceeds. 

And  this  reminds  me  that  I  have  here  some  little  remark 
to  make  concerning  the  extent  of  the  program  of  post-prandial 
prattling  that  we  have  proposed  this  evening.  We  have  quite 
a  number  of  speakers,  and  some  people  evidently  are  a  little 
anxious  under  the  circumstances  as  to  the  time  as  to  which 
this  dinner  would  adjourn.  I  beg  of  you  all  to  accept  my 
assurances  that  all  of  the  addresses  this  evening  will  be  of 
the  most  interesting  character ;  and  if  you  will  examine  the 
list  of  the  speakers  you  will  be  assured  I  am  right.  But  they 
are  all  impressed,  being  sensitive  and  honorable  gentlemen, 
with  the  prominent  thought  in  New  York  society  to-day,  which 
is  the  thought  that  is  given  to  us  by  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road with  the  elegance  and  completeness  of  its  terminal  facili- 
ties. And  this  applies  to  human  corporations  quite  as  well  as 
railroad  corporations ;  and  I  am  sure  that  this  beneficent  and 
soul-satisfying  thought  is  prominent  in  the  minds  of  all  the 
gentlemen  that  will  speak  to  us  this  evening. 


Ul 

The  first  toast  on  the  program,  as  you  may  possibly  have 
noticed,  is  the  one  entitled  "  Our  Neighbors." 

Being  a  somewhat  serious  and  perhaps  partially  well-edu- 
cated group  of  people,  in  the  words  of  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
we  may  remember  the  question  of  one  of  the  great  teachers 
years  ago,  "Who  is  my  neighbor?" — and  when  the  Union 
Theological  Seminary  asks  that  question  the  response  comes 
very  quickly,  "  Columbia  University,"  and  therefore  it  is 
proper  that  we  should  first  hear  this  evening  from  the  loved 
and  honored  President  of  that  institution,  Dr.  Nicholas  Mur- 
ray Butler. 

President  Butler: 

Mr.  Ogden,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen : 

It  is  my  privilege  to  state  in  a  few  brief  sentences  my  con- 
ception of  the  significance  of  the  coming  of  this  Seminary  to 
its  new  home  on  Morningside  Heights.  It  is  significant  for 
this  metropolitan  city  and  for  the  Union. 

No  matter  how  devoted  we  may  be  to  peace,  we  fall  in- 
evitably into  the  habit  of  speaking  of  many  of  the  problems 
and  tasks  of  life  in  terms  of  struggle,  of  contest  and  of  con- 
troversy.   The  biologist  and  the  economist  alike  will  have  it  so. 

We  are  engaged  in  a  most  conspicuous  fashion  in  this 
modern  democracy  of  ours  in  making  a  struggle  almost  des- 
perate in  character  for  the  formation  and  expression  of  the 
intellectual  and  the  spiritual  life. 

The  first  act  of  a  good  general  is  to  mobilize  his  forces,  to 
bring  them  into  touch,  into  relation,  into  sympathetic  co-oper- 
ation, each  part  with  the  other,  that  the  struggle  may  be  more 
effectively  carried  on. 

It  is  now  almost  a  quarter  of  a  century  since  the  far-seeing 
men  of  New  York  have  begun  to  occupy  and  fortify  Morning- 
side  Heights  as  the  citadel  of  our  intellectual  and  our  spiritual 
life.  They  have  planted  there  a  great  cathedral  with  its  spires 
of  aspiration  pointing  everlastingly  towards  Heaven.  They 
have  built  there  a  great  hospital  with  its  rooms  open  to  re- 
ceive the  poor,  the  sick  and  the  needy.  They  have  built  there 
a  great  university  representing  every  aspect  of  letters  and  of 
science  in  their  theory  and  in  their  applications. 

And  now  they  have  surrounded  these  and  their  allied  in- 
stitutions W'ith  a  great  school,  magnificent,  well  equipped, 
catholic  and  scientific  for  the  study  of  the  "  Queen  of  the  Sci- 
ences." 


142 

One  more  step  has  been  taken  in  mobilizing  the  forces  of 
civilization  to  fight  the  everlasting  fight  and  to  exalt  the  no  less 
everlasting  ideal. 

I  remember  many  years  ago  to  have  been  present  at  the 
service  in  celebration  of  the  Greek  Church's  Easter  Festival 
in  the  City  of  Jerusalem.  I  remember  that  when  at  twelve 
o'clock  the  supposedly  holy  fire  made  its  appearance  at  the 
very  center  of  the  shrine  there  were  ready  runners  stripped 
and  prepared  each  with  his  candle,  guarding  carefully  its  top 
with  its  sacred,  divine  flame,  to  carry  far  away  to  the  churches 
and  the  altars  and  the  homes,  not  alone  of  Palestine,  but  to 
many  parts  of  the  distant  world  where  the  Greek  Church  ruled. 
As  these  men  dashed  away  from  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sep- 
ulchre carrying  this  little  bit  of  flame,  not  one  but  a  hundred 
poor  peasants  came  up  close  to  put  each  his  little  candle  where 
it  could  get  something  of  this  light  and  take  it  away  to  his 
own  hearthstone  and  domestic  shrine.  We  are  building  an 
altar  with  the  everlasting  fire.  There  will  be  hundreds  and 
thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  messengers,  and  runners 
and  pilgrims  to  carry  out  this  beneficent  light,  this  guiding 
purpose,  into  the  uttermost  part  of  these  United  States  and 
of  the  world. 

We  are  neighbors  in  this  splendid  and  inspiring  task,  and 
no  neighbor,  no  ally,  no  friend  could  be  more  welcome  than 
the  splendid  company  of  scholars  who  have  come  under  the 
aegis  of  the  Union  Theological  Seminary,  bearing  the  great 
traditions  that  we  heard  so  splendidly  described  by  Dr.  Briggs 
this  afternoon,  and  taking  their  part  in  what  is  after  all  the 
one  thing  in  this  life  most  worth  living  for,  their  part  in  the 
pursuit  of  truth  and  the  exaltation  of  the  spiritual  ideal. 

Mr.  Ogden  : 

Dr.  Butler's  remarks  remind  me  that  I  was  a  little  too 
economical  of  your  time,  and  still  further  that  I  do  not  pro- 
pose to  occupy  but  a  moment  of  it  now. 

I  apologize  in  failing  to  refer  to  the  location  and  the  com- 
pleteness of  the  plant,  that  so  far  as  we  can  now  judge,  is  per- 
fect for  the  accommodation  of  Union  Theological  Seminary 
on  Morningside  Heights.  Those  of  you  who  have  not  seen 
the  buildings,  I  would  advise  to  see  them,  and  I  am  sure  that 
if  you  will  carefully  preserve  and  refer  to  the  souvenirs  that 
have  been  distributed  here  this  evening,  and  to  the  views  pre- 
sented there  in  the  latter  part  of  that  souvenir,  they  will,  I 


143 

am  sure,  awaken  your  interest.    But  you  should  see  the  build- 
ings for  yourself. 

The  next  toast  on  our  program  is  "  The  City." 
Our  honored  guest  and  associate  in  religious   work,   the 
Bishop  of  New  York,  is  down  to  respond  to  that  toast,  but  he 
has  confidentially  communicated  to  me  that  he  does  not  care 
to  respond  to  that  toast. 

I  am  almost  sure  that  he  has  forgotten  a  splendid  speech 
that  I  heard  him  make  a  short  time  ago  on  the  spirituality  of 
the  City  of  New  York,  a  very  wonderful  speech,  but  however 
that  may  be,  the  subject  that  interests  Bishop  Greer  is  "  The 
Union  Theological  Seminary  and  its  Relation  to  Church 
Unity,"  and  on  that  subject  he  prefers  to  speak  to  us. 

The  Right  Rev.  David  H.  Greer: 
Mr.  Chairman,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen : 

This  is  a  formidable  duty  to  which  you  have  summoned 
me.  Not  because  of  the  subject — I  can  easily  get  away  from 
that  as  a  preacher  does  from  his  text — but  because  of  you, 
and  I  cannot  get  away  from  you :  you  distinguished  people 
eminent  in  so  many  different  vocations,  college  presidents, 
teachers,  preachers,  doctors,  journalists,  men  of  affairs,  and 
yet  over  it  all  there  seems  to  be  a  Presbyterian  hue,  and  some- 
how strange  as  it  may  seem,  I  feel  much  at  home,  because  I 
know  you  so  well  and  I  love  you  so  much. 

I  feel  honored  with  the  invitation  to  your  banquet  and  the 
privilege  which  it  gives  me  of  extending  my  sincere  and  cor- 
dial congratulations  to  you  upon  the  formal  and  official  open- 
ing of  your  splendid  seminary  buildings.  Certainly  they 
occupy  a  great  coign  of  vantage,  not  only  because  of  their 
physical  site  but  because  of  their  academic  vicinage.  Your 
proximity  to  Columbia  University  will  give  free  and  con- 
venient opportunity  to  the  students  of  the  Seminary  to  avail 
themselves  of  the  privileges  of  that  great  and  growing  uni- 
versity, over  which  our  learned  and  brilliant  friend,  Dr.  But- 
ler, so  admirably  presides. 

May  I  venture  to  suggest,  lest  some  of  you  may  not  know 
it,  that  there  is  another  neighbor  there  on  that  great  eminence 
— the  Cathedral  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  now  approaching 
one  stage  of  its  completion,  and  perhaps  your  proximity  to  that 
cathedral  may  have  the  tendency  to  divert  some  of  the  stu- 
dents of  Union  Seminary  into  the  ministry  of  the  Episcopal 
Church.    And  when  that  cathedral  shall  be  opened  for  regu- 


144 

lar  and  steady  services,  as  it  soon  will  be,  some  of  your  stu- 
dents may  be  so  impressed  with  the  character  of  its  services 
that  they  will  want  to  come  to  us,  and  if  that  is  the  case  I  am 
confident  of  two  things :  First,  that  as  far  as  we  are  concerned 
they  are  welcome  to  come,  and,  second,  as  far  as  you  are  con- 
cerned, from  what  I  have  heard  this  afternoon,  they  are  wel- 
come to  go  if  they  want  to  go.  We  have  no  desire  to  devour 
them  nor  they  to  be  devoured ;  certainly  not  in  the  way  of 
which  I  recently  heard  when  one  evening  last  Summer  I  was 
called  to  the  telephone  by  that  imperative  ring,  and  was  told 
by  the  party  at  the  other  end  of  the  wire  that  the  cannibals 
had  just  eaten  two  missionaries,  and  wanted  to  know  what  I 
was  going  to  do  about  it.  There  didn't  seem  anything  then 
that  I  could  do — it  had  been  done.  I  can  only  say  that  if  any 
of  your  bright  and  promising  young  men  desire  to  come  to  us, 
we  will  try  and  take  better  care  of  them. 

But  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen,  another  coign  of  vantage 
you  occupy.  If  I  interpret  aright  Union  Seminary,  it  is  a 
great  theological  university  and  not  simply  another  theological 
school.  Your  faculty,  men  of  international  reputation  for 
scholarly  equipment  and  attainment,  have  it  for  their  aim,  if 
I  correctly  interpret  it,  to  train  for  the  church  at  large,  the 
church  universal,  the  church  catholic,  of  any  and  every  name, 
a  learned  and  competent  ministry. 

In  many  ways  you  have  shown  this  breadth  of  purpose.  I 
heard  this  afternoon  of  the  number  of  representatives,  I  for- 
get how  many,  from  various  denominations  you  have  upon 
your  Faculty  and  among  your  undergraduate  body.  One  of 
your  Faculty  is  a  member,  a  clergyman  of  the  Episcopal 
Church,  and  I  think  he  is  not  exactly  what  we  call  among  us  a 
"  Low  Churchman,"  with  ultra-Protestant  tendencies ;  he  is 
nevertheless  your  honored  senior  professor.  You  are  not 
warped,  you  are  not  biased,  you  are  not  prejudiced,  you  are 
not  like  the  Congregational  Minister  of  whom  I  heard  preach- 
ing to  an  assembly,  all  Congregationalists,  in  England,  take 
for  his  text,  "  If  any  man  refuses  to  hear  the  Church,  let  him." 

And  then,  still  another  coign  of  vantage  you  occupy:  Your 
students  are  from  everywhere,  not  of  any  particular  type  or 
school  of  thought  or  temperamental  preference,  and  coming 
thus  together  into  personal  touch  and  contact,  they  are  per- 
haps preparing  the  way  by  a  better  mutual  understanding  for 
that  great  union  of  Christendom  and  of  all  Christian  forces, 
which  is  the  desired  consummation  of  the  Christian  world. 

I   remember  two  years  ago,  when  I   was  present   at  the 


145 

Lambeth  Conference  in  England,  and  appointed  to  be  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Committee  on  Reunion  and  Intercommunion,  we 
were  honored  once  with  the  presence  of  the  great  Congrega- 
tional Divine,  known  on  both  sides  of  the  water,  the  Reverend 
Doctor  Horton.  He  told  us  very  frankly  and  fraternally  that 
the  great  objection  to  the  Anglican  Church,  which  had  been  in 
part  responsible  for  the  creation  of  the  Congregational  Church, 
was  not  the  Episcopate,  but  because  the  Anglican  Church  was 
supposed  to  be  lacking  in  vital  piety  and  personal  religion. 
And  just  across  the  table  from  him  sat  the  dear  old  Bishop  of 
Lincoln,  now  gone  to  his  rest  and  reward,  one  of  the  holiest, 
humblest  and  devoutest  men  in  all  the  kingdom.  There  they 
had  been,  those  two  great  eminent  Christian  divines,  living  side 
by  side  almost,  not  quite  understanding  one  another,  working 
and  living  at  cross  purposes  until  they  met  across  the  table  of 
a  committee  room. 

If  I  had  time,  but  I  haven't,  I  would  like  to  speak  of  that 
great  movement  which  has  recently  been  started,  both  in  the 
Episcopal  and  the  Congregational  churches,  for  a  conference 
with  the  whole  Christian  world  concerning  faith  and  order; 
not  faith  as  an  intellectual  proposition,  as  a  theological  dogma, 
as  an  ecclesiastical  tenet,  but  faith  as  a  stupendous  spiritual 
act,  and  when  the  whole  Christian  world  can  be  lifted  up  to 
that  first  and  can  live  in  that  first,  then  and  only  then  shall 
we  be  prepared  to  consider  such  questions  of  order  as  then 
remain  to  be  considered. 

May  you  in  your  way,  gentlemen,  and  we  in  ours,  and  oth- 
ers in  theirs  contribute  each  as  each  can  to  that  great  and  de- 
sirable consummation. 

Mr.  Ogden  : 

When  I  was  a  little  more  active  in  the  Presbyterian  Church 
than  I  have  been  of  late,  I  often  longed  for  a  real  good  bishop 
of  the  Episcopal  sort,  and  as  years  lengthen,  and  as  I  know 
the  Bishop  of  New  York  a  longer  time,  I  am  sure  that  the 
desire  on  my  part  does  not  abate. 

I  desire  to  apologize  to  Dr.  Alexander  that  I  slipped  over 
his  name  as  the  second  speaker  on  the  program  this  evening, 
but  it  was  just  a  lapsus  of  some  sort,  and  I  leave  it  to  the 
professors  of  Latin  present  to  finish  the  sentence,  and  I  now 
have  the  pleasure  of  introducing  Dr.  George  Alexander,  who 
is  the  nearest  to  a  Presbyterian  Bishop  of  any  churchman  of 
our  persuasion  that  I  know. 


146 

The  Reverend  George  Alexander  : 

Mr.  President,  Friends  of  Union  Theological  Seminary,  Ladies 
and  Gentlemen : 

I  appeal  to  you  for  sympathy.  I  thought  I  had  obtained 
my  discharge,  and  it  is  only  a  reprieve.  I  confess  to  a  cer- 
tain mild  surprise  that  I  have  been  asked  to  open  my  lips  in 
this  august  assembly.  The  breach  between  Union  Theological 
Seminary  and  myself  has  been  steadily  widening  for  a  quarter 
of  a  century.  When  I  came  to  New  York,  one  of  the  attrac- 
tions was  that  within  a  stone's  throw  of  University  Place 
Church  stood  Union  Theological  Seminary  with  Dr.  Shedd 
and  Dr.  Shaff  and  others  of  their  confreres.  But  my  type  of 
orthodoxy  proved  so  repellant  that  within  a  year  Union  Sem- 
inary sheered  off  to  a  distance  of  three  miles,  and  that  has 
since  been  increased  to  six  miles,  and  I  assure  you,  Mr.  Ogden, 
that  it  is  very  delightful  to  receive  such  a  tribute  in  my  de- 
clining years,  and  to  have  once  more  the  sense  of  neighborli- 
ness  and  brotherliness. 

It  is  one  of  the  penalties  of  longevity  that  one  is  compelled 
to  note  the  transition  of  material  grandeurs  and  the  instability 
of  human  hopes.  I  have  seen  Ichabod  written  upon  the  walls 
of  the  first  home  of  Union  Seminary,  and  the  second  home  of 
Union  Seminary,  which  I  heard  dedicated  with  prophecies  that 
it  would  endure  through  the  centuries,  has  already  met  with 
the  fate  so  well  described  in  that  bit  of  Psalmody  to  which 
Dr.  McKeever  and  I  were  inured  in  our  callow  days. 

Dr.  Ogden  has  referred  to  me  as  a  Presbyterian.  But  I 
suppose  it  is  due  to  the  fact  that  I  am  a  Presbyterian  that  I 
am  permitted  to  sit  in  this  company  and  respond  to  this  toast. 
Perhaps  I  should  regard  my  invitation  to  speak  here  to-night 
as  indicating  a  lingering  fondness  on  the  part  of  Union  Sem- 
inary for  the  ancestral  home  from  which  she  departed  nearly 
a  generation  ago. 

Union  Seminary  rejoices  in  her  academic  freedom  and  re- 
joices in  her  emancipation  from  ecclesiastical  formulas,  rejoices 
in  her  privilege  to  enter  into  affiliations  widely  embracing  other 
communions  and  reaching  out  into  other  lands,  but  after  all, 
the  most  tender  and  intimate  relation  of  human  life  is  that 
which  binds  together  mother  and  child.  Union  Seminary,  after 
all,  sprang  from  the  bosom  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  It 
will  be  a  sad  day  for  both  if  the  mother  wholly  disowns  her 
child  or  the  child  ceases  to  revere  her  mother. 

Our  good  Bishop  has  made  a  bid  for  the  students  of  Union 


147 

Seminary,  and  we  are  willing  that  he  should  take  all  that  be- 
long to  him,  but  speaking  for  the  Presbyterian  Church  we  need 
a  lot  of  them  if  they  are  of  the  right  sort.  The  field  is  the 
world,  and  no  small  section  of  the  world  is  this  city  of  ours 
for  which  the  good  Bishop  declined  to  speak. 

Let  me  put  in  a  plea  for  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the 
City  of  New  York.  Do  we  realize,  gentlemen,  that  the  posts 
most  commanding  and  most  exacting  are  the  posts  that  are 
vacant  and  most  difficult  to  fill.  The  call  is  for  men ;  men 
qualified  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  new  era  in  this  land  and 
all  around  the  land.  That  is  what  Union  Seminary  is  under- 
taking to  do.  It  is  a  great  and  noble  task  to  plant  what  our 
President  Taft  called  "  Nuclei  of  Civilization  "  in  every  land 
beneath  the  skies.  For  this  and  for  the  manning  of  the 
churches  in  our  own  land  we  need  pastors  and  teachers,  men 
great  in  scholarship,  if  we  may  have  that  without  the  sacrifice 
of  things  more  vital,  but  preachers  and  teachers  and  pastors; 
men  of  God,  men  of  religion ;  above  all,  great  believers ;  men 
with  a  vision  of  God  and  a  vision  of  the  world's  need  that 
stirs  their  inmost  being. 

The  Seminary,  Dr.  Brown,  that  can  do  that,  that  can  sup- 
ply that  need  will  be  held  close  to  the  throbbing  heart  of  the 
Holy  Church  throughout  all  the  world. 

Mr.  Ogden  : 

Harvard  University  is  represented  in  the  gatherings  of  to- 
day by  a  professor  who  has  tender  personal  ties  with  Union 
Seminary,  in  addition  to  the  honored  position  that  he  holds  in 
the  great  university  of  Massachusetts,  the  Rev.  Professor  Ed- 
ward C.  Moore,  who  will  speak  to  you  on  "  The  University." 

The  Reverend  Professor  Edward  C.  Moore  : 

Mr.  President,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen,  Friends  of  the  Union 
Seminary : 

One  name  has  been  associated  with  almost  every  greater 
step  of  progress  in  the  world  of  education  in  our  country  for 
the  last  forty  years.  It  is  that  of  President  Eliot.  Mr.  Eliot 
uttered,  a  few  years  ago,  a  word  which  I  think  might  well 
apply  to  the  situation  in  which  Union  Seminary  finds  itself 
to-day.  He  said :  "  He  who  has  been  a  pioneer  in  any  move- 
ment for  human  welfare  has  two  pleasures.  He  has  the  ex- 
hilaration of  being  a  pioneer,  of  blazing  the  trail.    And  then, 


148 

if  God  grant  him  but  a  few  good  years,  he  has  another  joy. 
It  is  that  of  seeing  men  jostle  one  another  to  tread  broad  the 
path  which  he  once  walked  alone." 

Such  happiness  Union  Seminary,  with  a  few  others  which 
I  could  name  among  our  theological  institutions,  may  claim. 
It  is  the  joy  of  having  had  its  share  in  the  early  stages  of  a 
movement  concerning  which  one  hardly  needs  to  be  a  prophet 
to  declare  that  it  has  made  plain  the  road,  which  the  institu- 
tions of  sacred  learning  in  this  land  will  be  bound  to  follow. 

It  is  the  movement  for  the  association  of  the  training  of 
men  for  the  ministry  with  the  training  of  men  for  other  pro- 
fessions. It  is  the  path  which  is  to  lead  to  the  organic  relation 
of  divinity  schools  to  universities  and  the  representation  of 
sacred  learning  in  those  centers  in  which  all  other  branches  of 
learning  are  fostered. 

It  may  be  interesting,  however,  to  remind  ourselves  that 
in  this  association  of  theological  education  with  the  life  of  a 
university,  for  which  Union  Seminary  in  its  new  location 
stands,  we  are  but  resuming  a  great  tradition  of  the  past.  We 
do  but  revert  to  a  principle  which  formerly  obtained.  Indeed, 
that  principle  has  been  interrupted  in  its  application  for  but  a 
comparatively  short  period  in  the  history  of  our  own  country 
and  in  the  practice  of  the  Christian  Church. 

The  preparation  of  men  for  the  ministry  was  a  part  of  the 
business  of  all  our  older  colleges,  the  ones  which  have  more 
recently  grown  to  be  the  most  conspicuous  of  our  universities. 
I  pass  almost  daily  through  a  gate  on  whose  wall  is  chiseled 
an  inscription,  the  last  few  lines  of  which  read  thus :  "  After 
we  had  provided  necessaries  for  our  livelihood,  reared  con- 
venient places  for  God's  worship  and  settled  the  civil  govern- 
ment, one  of  the  next  things  we  longed  for  and  looked  after 
was  to  advance  learning  and  perpetuate  it  to  posterity,  dread- 
ing to  have  an  illiterate  ministry  to  the  churches  when  our 
present  ministers  shall  lie  in  the  dust."  Those  phrases  express 
the  purpose  of  the  founding  of  Harvard  College.  From  its 
very  inception  that  college,  which  has  become  our  oldest  and 
foremost  university,  set  itself  this  task.  It  was  to  prepare 
men  for  the  Gospel  ministry  in  company  with  men  who  were 
preparing  for  other  walks  in  life.  It  was  to  maintain  sacred 
learning.  With  allowance  due  for  the  peculiar  circumstances 
we  might  say  of  the  origin  of  our  most  ancient  institutions  of 
learning  the  same  thing,  which  is  true  of  the  rise  of  the  great 
schools  of  the  Middle  Age  in  Europe,  that  the  universities  had 
their  beginnings  in  the  theological  schools. 


149 

The  first  chair  in  Harvard  College,  which  had  an  endow- 
ment directly  attached  to  it,  was  the  Hollis  Professorship  of 
Divinity,  founded  in  1721.  The  third  such  chair  in  Harvard 
College  was  the  Hancock  Professorship  of  Hebrew  and  Ori- 
ental Languages,  founded  in  1764.  Their  incumbents  were 
college  professors.  There  was  indeed  no  university,  in  the 
sense  in  which  we  now  use  that  word,  in  the  land.  But  still 
less  was  there  a  Theological  Seminary  in  the  land.  The  col- 
lege was  the  seat  of  all  learning,  with  sacred  learning  in  the 
midst.  At  a  much  later  period  of  its  history  when  the  uni- 
versity would  gladly  have  divested  itself  of  the  responsibility 
of  administering  those  funds,  the  Supreme  Court  refused  it 
permission  so  to  do,  and  informed  it  that  it  must  continue  to 
afford  instruction  in  those  subjects. 

Then  came  the  second  period  in  the  relation  of  sacred 
learning  and  ministerial  preparation  to  the  universities.  It  is 
the  period  of  the  theological  seminaries.  It  is  the  period  of 
an  impulse  with  which  indeed  we  have  been  familiar.  And 
because  we  have  been  familiar  with  it  we  have  perhaps  as- 
sumed that  it  belonged  to  the  normal  state  of  things.  I  refer 
to  the  impulse  which  led  to  the  founding  of  schools  for  the 
preparation  exclusively  of  ministers.  These  schools  have 
been,  for  the  most  part,  under  strict  denominational  control. 
They  have  been  bound  often  in  the  most  stringent  fashion  to 
the  maintenance  of  denominational  statements  of  faith.  They 
have  in  some  cases  purposely  dissociated  from  other  institu- 
tions of  learning.  Or  again,  even  when  they  have  existed  in 
the  same  town  with  those  institutions,  they  have  had  no  more 
to  do  with  them  than  had  the  Jews  with  the  Samaritans.  I 
say  that,  through  familiarity,  we  have  assumed  that  this  was 
the  normal  state  of  things.  In  simple  truth  it  is  but  a  brief 
episode  in  the  history  of  learning  in  our  country.  And  fur- 
thermore, it  is  a  state  of  things  with  difficulty  made  intelligible 
to  the  inhabitants  of  other  countries. 

The  first  of  these  isolated  institutions,  Andover,  founded 
in  1807,  did  indeed  represent  a  vigorous  and  conscientious  re- 
volt against  the  liberal  movement  which  had  possessed  itself 
of  Harvard  College.  But  in  some  measure  also  it  represented 
the  fear  of  the  influence  of  the  rationalist  movement  which 
was  felt  in  all  our  colleges.  It  did  not  then  look  beyond  a 
fixed  curriculum  of  professional  studies,  for  which  a  few 
chairs  sufficed.  It  stood  for  an  ideal  of  the  contemplative,  not 
to  say  other-worldly  and  ascetic  life  of  the  minister,  for  which 
meditation  and  seclusion  formed  a  valuable  part  of  prepara- 


150 

tion.  The  lead  of  Andover  was  followed  within  two  decades 
by  almost  every  greater  community  in  the  United  States. 
There  passed  over  the  whole  country  a  wave  of  denomina- 
tionalism  of  which  the  founding  of  many  of  these  institutions 
was  an  expression.  They  did  noble  work.  They  raised  up  a 
ministry  not  merely  faithful  but  able.  They  made  a  contribu- 
tion to  the  life  of  our  churches  and  country  and  to  the  evan- 
gelization of  the  world  which  can  never  be  forgotten. 

And  yet  practically  every  one  of  the  principles  which  I 
above  alluded  to  as  lying  at  their  foundation  is  to-day  in  dis- 
pute. Under  the  challenge  of  the  world,  through  the  pressure 
of  its  needs  with  our  own  enlarging  and  historical  and  social 
sense,  we  have  come  to  feel  that  the  man  of  God  must  be 
thoroughly  furnished  with  all  good  work,  not  merely  for  that 
of  the  institution  which  calls  itself  the  church.  We  feel  that 
the  church  is  itself  no  isolated  institution  let  down  into  the 
world.  But  it  is  a  great  factor  of  the  world,  bone  of  its  bone 
and  part  of  its  very  life.  We  feel  that  the  so-called  sacred 
learning  is  no  small  and  separated  province  of  the  world  of 
learning,  but  it  is  a  vital  and  integral  part  of  that  same.  We 
feel  that  the  institution  of  theological  learning  can  never  do 
all  that  its  students  need  if  it  stands  by  itself.  We  feel  that 
a  course  of  study  has  but  scant  right  to  be  called  such  if  the 
results  of  its  investigations  are  all  known  and  fixed  before- 
hand. We  feel  that  the  walls  of  denominationalism,  which 
these  institutions  have  done  so  much  to  build  up,  ought  now 
to  come  down.  We  feel  that  these  institutions,  in  which  men 
of  one  church  are  gathered  to  the  exclusion  of  all  others,  run 
some  risk  of  hindering  the  union  of  Christ's  Church  on  earth. 
We  feel  that  a  school,  in  which  youth  of  many  churches  are 
united  in  work  and  prayer,  is  more  likely  to  further  that  union. 
Under  these  convictions,  which  are  more  and  more  widely 
shared,  we  are  treading  the  course  which  will  lead  us,  not 
backwards — thank  God,  we  do  not  go  backward — but  will  lead 
us  forward  into  an  association  of  sacred  learning  with  the 
life  of  the  universities  far  broader  and  more  magnificent  than 
that  which  in  former  years  obtained. 

The  Harvard  Divinity  School  also,  despite  its  background 
in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  of  which  I  spoke, 
passed  through  this  same  experience  of  segregation.  It  is  true 
that  the  men  who  drew  up  the  articles  constituting  that  school 
in  1817  used  these  remarkable  words:  "No  assent  to  the 
peculiarities  of  any  denomination  of  Christians  shall  be  re- 
quired either  of  the  instructors  or  students."    They  were  thus 


151 

the  precursors  by  nearly  ninety  years  of  those  who,  in  I9p5> 
proclaimed  Union  Seminary  free  from  any  act  of  subscription 
and  opened  its  doors  to  professors  and  students  of  many 
churches.  Yet  for  sixty  years  those  remarkable  words  de- 
scribed a  theory  rather  than  a  fact.  Indeed  it  would  hardly 
be  too  much  to  say  that  even  the  theory  was  sometimes  lost 
sight  of.  The  Harvard  Divinity  School  was  in  fact  as  simply 
a  denominational  school  as  were  the  others.  And  it  had  hardly 
more  to  do  with  the  university,  whose  name  it  bore  and  under 
whose  authorities  it  was  governed,  than  had  some  of  the  iso- 
lated schools  to  which  we  have  referred.  It  was  in  fact,  if 
not  in  charter,  a  Unitarian  School.  It  did  a  noble  work  for 
the  Unitarian  Church.  But  in  the  mood  which  ruled  the  age 
it  would  do  little  or  nothing  beyond  that  area.  Without  doubt 
many  of  its  constituency  had  no  desire  to  do  anything  beyond 
that  area. 

Then  came  the  third  period  when,  thirty  years  ago,  the 
university  declared  that  it  would  not  hold  itself  responsible  for 
the  maintenance  of  a  denominational  school.  It  set  before 
itself  the  ideal  of  a  true  university  school,  in  which  the  two 
implications  of  its  charter  were  really  carried  out.  It  set  be- 
fore itself  the  ideal  of  a  school  in  which  men  were  chosen  to 
teach  because  of  a  learning  and  character  which  made  them 
the  acknowledged  compeers  of  the  teachers  of  any  other  sub- 
ject. But  in  their  choosing  no  other  consideration  was  to  have 
any  weight  whatsoever.  It  set  before  itself  the  ideal  of  a 
school  in  which  students  of  theology,  if  they  wished  to  study 
philosophy  or  history  or  science,  had  all  the  treasures  of  the 
university  to  draw  upon.  It  set  before  itself  the  ideal  of  a 
school  in  which,  if  a  student  vmder  any  faculty  whatsoever 
wished  to  give  himself  to  one  or  more  of  the  studies  relating 
to  religion,  he  had  masters  in  those  subjects  for  his  teachers. 
He  was  not  compelled  to  do  this  work  in  a  sentimental  and 
amateurish  way  in  strong  contrast  with  the  seriousness  of  all 
the  other  work  he  did.  If  he  wanted  to  learn  something,  for 
example  about  the  New  Testament,  why  should  he  not  be 
taught  by  somebody  who  knew  something  about  the  New 
Testament?  It  sets  before  itself  the  ideal  of  a  theological 
school,  in  which  the  spirit  of  a  university  obtained,  in  which 
the  same  courses  were  accepted  for  several  degrees,  in  which 
students  mingled  upon  equal  terms,  in  which  the  wholeness 
and  sacredness  of  life  was  emphasized  and  sustained  exactly 
by  the  recognition  of  the  society  and  nominality  and  human 
loveliness  of  religion.     Truly  a  great  ideal.     But  is  not  this 


152 

the  ideal  to  which  Union  Seminary  hopes  to  render  unexam- 
pled service  by  all  the  unrivaled  equipment  in  v^hich  we  rejoice 
as  she  enters  upon  her  new  era  with  this  day? 

The  representative  of  the  most  famous  of  the  isolated  sem- 
inaries said  to  me  only  a  few  years  ago :  "  But  think  how  much 
it  will  cost  us  to  move."  I  could  only  reply :  "  But  did  you 
ever  think  how  much  it  will  cost  you  not  to  move  ?  You  will 
have  to  multiply  your  faculty  by  five  to  give  to  the  men  what 
they  rightfully  demand.  And  if  you  do  not  give  it  to  them, 
they  will  go  elsewhere."  They  did  go  elsewhere.  That  insti- 
tution has  since  moved.  And  now  men  are  seeking  it  again. 
I  believe  that  the  contention  was  right.  I  believe  that  the 
movement  is  irresistible.  For  not  even  if  the  isolated  sem- 
inary should  multiply  its  resource  by  five  could  it  do  the  work 
so  well  as  by  passing  over  that  work  to  the  university  to  be 
done  by  standing  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  the  university.  It 
is  a  matter  of  atmosphere.  It  is  a  spirit  and  life.  Men  are  to 
be  educated  for  the  ministry  not  merely  as  other  men  are 
educated,  but  they  are  to  be  educated  with  other  men,  as  part 
of  the  world  of  educated  men.  They  are  to  look  into  the  eyes 
of  other  educated  men  with  understanding,  and  not  across  a 
great  gulf  fixed.  They  are  not  merely  to  live  and  work  for 
other  men,  but  they  are  to  live  and  work  with  them.  The  dual 
standard  of  life  and  interpretation  of  the  Gospel,  which  was 
the  curse  of  the  Middle  Age,  still  lingers.  It  is  the  secret  of 
the  alienation  of  many  from  the  church  and  the  ministry.  It 
must  be  done  away. 

Oh,  and  let  me  make  an  even  greater  appeal  than  that  and 
one  not  so  often  made.  It  is  not  merely  that  the  theological 
student  needs  the  university.  It  is  also  that  the  university 
needs  the  student  of  religion — so  only  that  the  latter  be  a  per- 
son of  the  genuine  quality  which  anybody  can  need.  I  have 
spoken  of  the  contribution  which  the  university  makes  to  him. 
But  is  there  nothing  which  he  can  contribute  to  the  life  of  all 
the  other  members  of  the  university  ?  Truly  nothing  and  less 
than  nothing,  if  his  religion  is  of  the  artificial  sort.  Truly 
nothing,  if  he  bring  reproach  upon  his  cause.  But  he  has  an 
inestimable  boon  to  confer  if  he  be  the  right  sort  of  a  man,  a 
pure  youth  among  the  tempted,  unconquerable  idealist  among 
many  who  are  sordid,  generous  among  many  who  are  selfish, 
Christianlike  among  those  who  have  found  Christ,  and,  as  well, 
among  those  who  have  not,  a  minister  by  life,  example,  saint- 
llness  of  spirit,  even  before  he  came  to  the  ministry  in  the 
word  of  the  Gospel  upon  which  his  heart  is  set.    I  have  charge 


153 

of  a  university  chapel.  I  have  no  more  faithful  supporters 
in  my  work  than  the  Divinity  School  men.  It  would  indeed 
be  disgraceful  if  it  were  not  so.  But  the  university  is  indefi- 
nitely richer  by  the  fact  that  it  is  so.  Or,  from  thi5  matter  of 
character  to  recur  for  a  moment  to  that  other  matter  of  learn- 
ing of  which  I  spoke.  Why  should  the  other  members  of  a 
university  be  deprived  of  the  study  of  religious  subjects  alto- 
gether or  else  condemned  to  study  them  in  an  unlearned  and 
an  unscientific  way?  Why  should  not  the  circulation  of  the 
free  life  of  learning  be  just  as  good  for  one  set  of  men  as  it 
is  for  the  other?  I  stand  here  to  plead  for  this  side  of  the 
question,  and  that  most  ardently.  It  is  a  great  opportunity 
which  the  old  endowed  universities  have  in  this  regard.  For, 
apparently,  it  is  a  problem  which  the  universities  under  state 
control  find  much  more  difficult  to  solve.  I  know  a  school  of 
which  it  would  be  true  to  say,  that  hardly  a  man  has  taken  his 
degree  there  for  twenty  years  w'ho  has  not  taken  one  or  more 
courses  in  every  year  of  his  residence  from  a  professor  who 
was  not  a  member  of  the  theological  faculty.  But  the  parallel 
fact  seems  to  be  even  more  interesting.  In  that  same  interval 
there  have  been  few  years  when  there  have  not  been  from 
three  to  five  hundred  men  from  other  departments  of  the  uni- 
versity taking  instruction  under  members  of  the  theological 
faculty.  You  understand,  these  were  men  who  were  not  going 
into  the  ministry.  They  were  men  who  were  going  into  the 
law,  or  medicine,  or  business.  One  result  of  all  this  has  been 
that  the  old  barrier,  which  used  to  be  thought  to  separate  the- 
ological education  from  any  other,  has  been  done  away.  I  can 
remember  a  time  when  I  myself  thought  of  a  theological  pro- 
fessor as  a  man  of  altogether  different  sort  from  any  other,  a 
theological  student  as  a  being  of  an  inferior  sort,  his  studies 
far  less  rigorous  and  his  standards  far  more  exacting  than 
other  standards.  Now  one  standard  obtains  for  all.  Fees  are 
equalized.  The  mendicancy  of  the  profession  is  done  away. 
The  standing  of  theological  learning  in  the  world  of  youth, 
who  after  all  are  soon  to  be  the  laymen  in  our  churches,  is 
redeemed  in  a  manner  which,  for  the  future  of  the  church,  as 
it  seems  to  me,  is  important  in  the  highest  degree. 

We  speak  often  in  our  times  of  the  naturalization  of  Chris- 
tianity within  the  life  of  the  different  races  to  whom  the  Gos- 
pel has  been  preached.  We  mean  with  that  phrase  to  describe 
that  contribution  which  the  various  peoples  have  made  and 
are  now  making  to  the  interpretation  of  Christianity.  We 
mean  that  modification  of  the  understanding  and  application 


154 

of  Christianity  which  has  taken  place  through  the  assimilation 
of  it  to  the  life  of  different  nations.  One  of  the  subjects  at  this 
morning's  session  in  connection  with  this  dedication  was  that 
of  the  adaptation  of  the  Gospel  in  the  work  of  missions.  The 
Gospel  is  one  thing  to  the  children  of  Arabia,  it  is  another  to 
the  Hindoos  or  the  Chinese  or  the  Japanese.  The  Gospel  lives 
for  all  of  these  peoples  in  terms  of  their  own  culture. 

But  that  which  we  thus  conceive  as  to  differences  of  race 
and  place  must  be  true  also  as  to  differences  of  time.  There 
is  a  constant  need  of  the  adaptation  of  the  Gospel  in  the  spirit 
of  a  new  time,  a  naturalization  of  it  within  the  culture  of  each 
succeeding  age.  The  Gospel  was  one  thing  in  the  first  century, 
it  was  quite  a  different  thing  in  the  third.  It  was  one  thing 
in  the  seventeenth  century.  It  must  be  quite  a  different  thing 
in  the  twentieth.  The  Puritan  did  his  work  in  the  world  be- 
cause he  was  profoundly  convinced  that  his  statement  of  re- 
ligion was  true.  But  not  only  that.  He  easily  convinced  his 
hearers  that  that  statement  was  true.  He  did  that  because  the 
statement  really  was  germain  to  the  whole  intellectual  life  of 
the  time.  It  was  an  integral,  a  vital,  a  congruous  element  of 
the  culture  of  the  age.  The  trouble  with  us  in  our  time  is  that 
too  often  we  seek  to  bring  religion  to  men  in  a  statement  and 
interpretation  which  is  incongruous  with  the  cultivation  of  the 
age.  It  may  be  dear  and  familiar  to  us.  But  it  is  alien  to 
many  men.  It  has  no  power  over  them.  It  speaks  a  language 
which  they  do  not  know.  It  needs  naturalization  within  the 
vivid  and  vigorous  life  of  our  own  time.  We  shall  then  first 
stand  firmly  upon  our  feet  and  speak  the  Gospel  again  with 
courage  and  with  power,  when  we  speak  it  in  words  that  men 
understand  and  in  its  vital  relation  to  all  the  other  things 
which  they  understand.  Then  and  then  only  will  men  feel 
Christianity  to  be  a  part  of  life,  and  all  life  to  be  interpreted 
and  crowned  in  religion.  There  is  no  problem  whose  solution 
is  more  vital  to  the  church.  And  for  the  solution  of  this  task 
Seminary  and  University  will  need  to  work,  not  in  hostility 
the  one  to  the  other,  nor  even  independently  the  one  of  the 
other.  Together,  working  hand  in  hand,  they  are  to  be  the 
instrumentalities  for  the  accomplishment  of  this  aim,  which  is 
so  much  to  be  desired. 

Mr.  Ogden: 

Our  next  speaker,  as  announced  on  the  program,  is  the 
Reverend  Professor  Henry  Van  Dyke,  whom  we  honor  alike 


155 

for  his  literary  abilities  and  for  his  capacity  as  a  great  preacher, 
but  he  is  sick  and  not  able  to  be  here. 

He  writes  an  interesting  note  to  Dr.  Brown,  the  closing 
words  of  which  are  these :  "  I  could  only  croak  with  a  voice 
like  a  raven,  but  croaking  will  be  out  of  place  at  the  banquet, 
so  I  will  be  present  in  the  spirit  and  wish  health,  a  long  life 
and  vital  powers  to  Union  Seminary  with  all  my  heart.  Faith- 
fully yours,  Henry  Van  Dyke." 

We  have  no  one  to  fill  his  place. 

I  have  been  very  much  comforted  from  my  lapse  of  mem- 
ory a  little  while  ago  apropos  of  Dr.  Alexander,  by  remem- 
bering that  Dr.  Butler  was  to-day  the  delegate  appointed  by 
the  Manchester  University  in  England,  but  it  slipped  off  his 
memory  and  into  his  "  forgettery,"  and  he  left  his  gorgeous 
raiment  hanging  in  its  closet  and  came  simply  in  the  ordinary 
academic  garb  of  the  President  of  Columbia  University.  That 
had  a  nearer  relation  to  the  whole  proceeding  to-day  because 
we  have  with  us  an  honored  friend.  We  should  love  to  wel- 
come him  as  the  Right  Reverend  William  Lawrence,  we  should 
love  to  welcome  him  as  the  Bishop  of  Massachusetts,  but  he 
is  not  himself  to-day  at  all.  He  is  the  representative  on  this 
occasion  of  the  University  of  Durham,  the  most  ancient  uni- 
versity in  England,  and  so  in  our  academic  procession  to-day 
he  had  the  glory  of  the  splendid  red  gown,  the  glory  that  would 
have  been  divided  with  the  President  of  Columbia  if  the  Presi- 
dent of  Columbia's  memory  had  been  a  little  better. 

So  I  have  the  pleasure  of  presenting  to  you.  Bishop  Law- 
rence, who  will  speak  to  you  about  "  Our  Friends  Across  the 
Sea." 

The  Right  Reverend  William  Lawrence: 
Mr.  Chairman : 

For  two  or  three  minutes  I  am  going  to  speak  for  myself. 
I  am  not  from  across  the  sea.  •  I  am  from  the  Colony  of 
Massachusetts  Bay,  where  Calvinism  in  all  its  points  is  hon- 
ored, and  where,  with  the  rising  of  the  sun  each  morning  we 
arise  still  and  say  the  Westminster  Creed.  I  came  here  not 
from  across  the  sea  but  as  a  friend,  and  I  came,  not  because 
I  was  invited,  but  because  I  wanted  to. 

As  Dean  of  a  college  or  the  Theological  School  rather 
that  thirty  years  ago  in  its  infancy  tried  to  plant  itself  close 
to  the  greatest  university  in  the  country,  a  university  then  sup- 
posed to  be  under  the  cloud  of  Unitarianism,  I  come  to  tell 


156 

you  that  from  our  experience  to  be  in  the  neighborhood  of  a 
university  is  good. 

Now  I  come  to  my  more  formal  words.  Through  the 
chance  that  I  hold  an  office  for  a  while  I  have  been  honored 
by  two  universities,  that  of  Durham  and  that  of  Cambridge, 
and  I  may  say  honestly  that  I  figured  for  Durham  in  a  Cam- 
bridge gown  to-day.  But  it  was  all  honest,  because  Durham 
knew  it,  and  they  told  me  to.  By  chance,  I  say,  of  holding 
that  office  and  through  no  merits  of  my  own  I  have  been  hon- 
ored by  those  two  universities,  and  therefore  may  speak  for 
a  moment  for  those  two,  or  perhaps  for  one  or  two  other 
English  universities. 

My  first  words,  therefore,  as  representative  of  an  English 
university  are  in  the  form  of  a  question.  We  in  old  England 
remember  Presbyterianism  of  three  or  more  centuries  ago,  and 
some  of  us  suffered  under  it;  and  now  here  we  are  and  we 
see  these  exercises,  and  we  witness  this  dinner,  and  we  note 
the  presence  of  the  representative  of  Harvard  University,  and 
of  the  President  of  Kings  College  of  New  York,  and  of  the 
Bishop  of  New  York,  and  other  representatives  of  the  Angli- 
can Church,  and  we  ask  the  question,  is  this  Presbyterianism 
when  it  has  come  to  its  full  fruition  ? 

My  next  remark  is  one  of  wonderment.  Do  we  of  the  an- 
cient Universities  of  England  hear  that  in  this  school  there  are 
five  representatives  of  different  denominations,  and  among  the 
students  studying  theology  to-day  are  representatives  of 
twenty  denominations?  Do  we  understand  that?  Are  we 
dreaming?  Is  it  possible  that  in  the  new  country  the  churches 
have  come  to  that,  and  the  Christians  have  come  to  that,  and 
that  young  men  and  old  men  can  study  theology  together  in 
the  spirit  of  the  love  of  truth,  and  in  the  fullness  of  charity, 
and  that  without  yielding  to  one  or  another  their  faith  or  hold- 
ings? If  that  be  so,  God  be  praised,  for  our  traditions  in 
England  are  such  that  we  have  been  unable  to  do  that;  but 
God  be  praised  that  a  land  has  risen  where  that  can  be  done. 

And  a  word  of  congratulation  and  of  God-speed.  Now  we 
begin  to  see  how  America  has  worked  out  the  problem  of 
Christian  thought  and  love  and  of  spiritual  freedom.  You  by 
the  separation  of  Church  and  State,  with  all  your  laws,  avoid 
questions  of  which  you  still  don't  know  the  nature.  With 
freedom  of  Church,  liberty  of  thought,  with  the  readiness  on 
the  part  of  the  Church  to  let  every  man  seek  his  own  way  in 
the  seeking  of  the  truth,  we  have  such  confidence  in  Christ, 
the  truth,  that  we  believe  that  in  that  freedom  there  will  be 


157 

a  grasp  of  Christian  truth  and  a  search  for.  Christian  love 
and  a  consummation  of  Christian  character  that  is  beyond  that 
that  has  been  the  fruitage  of  any  Christian  nation  up  to  this 
day. 

Therefore,  in  the  name  of  old  England  we  give  you  of  the 
new  country  in  all  your  Christian  aspirations  and  in  your  spirit 
of  full  liberty,  we  give  you  God-speed. 

Mr.  Ogden  : 

Those  two  last  speeches  were  from  Boston. 

There  sits  down  here  just  in  front  of  this  table  a  modest, 
quiet  man  from  Boston  who  furnished  us  all  the  final  designs 
and  has  superintended  the  construction  of  the  buildings  whose 
dedication  we  celebrated  this  afternoon.^ 

There  sits  at  this  table  a  member  of  the  Faculty  of  the 
Union  Seminary  who  as  a  business  man  can  give  points  to  a 
great  many  people  who  are  engaged  in  worldly  professions, 
a  man  who  has  been  of  the  greatest  possible  service  to  the 
building  committee  as  he  has  been  to  the  architects,  and  whose 
reputation  as  a  scholar  is  one  of  the  glories  of  the  Union  The- 
ological Seminary. 

I  refer  to  the  Reverend  Professor  George  William  Knox, 
who  will  have  a  few  words  to  say  to  us  about  the  Seminary. 

The  Reverend  Professor  George  William  Knox  : 
Mr.  President,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen : 

It  is  my  privilege  to  respond  for  the  Faculty  of  the  Sem- 
inary and  to  express  our  pleasure,  brethren  of  the  Universities 
and  of  the  Churches,  at  your  presence  with  us  to-night  and 
also  in  the  occasion  of  this  assemblage — the  completion  of  the 
group  of  buildings  on  Morningside  Heights. 

For  years  we  dreamed  our  dreams  and  saw  our  visions, 
and  often  the  doubt  arose  that  these  were  too  good  to  be  true. 
Yet,  as  ever  in  the  providence  of  God,  it  has  proved  that  our 
highest  visions  and  dearest  dreams  were  not  good  enough  to 
be  true,  for  the  realization  surpasses  our  most  ambitious  an- 
ticipations. 

Deeper  than  the  joy  which  fills  our  hearts  is  our  sense  of 
indebtedness  and  of  obligation.  First  of  all  to  the  noble  lay- 
men who  through  so  many  years  have  stood  strong  in  support 
of  ministerial  training,  making  this  Seminary  possible  in  the 

'  The  reference  is  to  Mr.  Francis  Allen,  the  architect  who  designed  the 
seminary  buildings. 


158 

beginning,  throughout  its  history  enlarging  its  faciHties,  add- 
ing to  its  resources  and  now  crowning  all  by  the  splendid  gift 
which  we  celebrate  to-night.  We  remember  them  with  deep 
gratitude,  sensible  of  the  responsibility  the  guardianship  of 
their  gifts  involves. 

We  would  next  acknowledge  indebtedness  to  the  Board  of 
Directors  for  their  attitude  toward  us.  In  our  day  we  hear 
much  of  a  certain  aloofness  of  Directors  from  Faculties,  but 
in  this  instance  there  has  been  thoroughgoing  co-operation.  It 
was  characteristic  of  the  policy  adopted  by  the  Board  from 
the  beginning  that  when  Mr.  James,  its  Vice  President,  made 
his  great  gift,  the  Faculty  were  asked  to  prepare  a  statement 
of  needs.  Months  were  given  to  the  study,  and  when  the 
plans  were  completed  they  were  embodied  in  the  program 
prepared  for  the  architectural  competition,  without  addition, 
subtraction  or  modification.  As  I  have  indicated,  the  instance 
is  typical,  and  the  Faculty  is  never  unmindful  of  the  friend- 
ship, the  confidence  and  the  co-operation  given  fully  and  freely 
by  the  Board. 

We  would  acknowledge  also  our  indebtedness  to  the  archi- 
tects, to  Mr.  Allen  and  to  Mr.  Collens,  who  gave  our  plans  the 
artistic  realization  which  excites  the  admiration  of  all  who 
view  the  new  buildings.  Their  skill,  their  familiarity  with  the 
traditions  of  Gothic  architecture,  their  clear  conception  of 
what  was  desired,  made  possible  the  realization  of  our  dreams. 
Never  in  all  this  work  have  they  permitted  their  keen  artistic 
sense  to  interfere  with  utility;  never  did  men  work  in  closer 
sympathy  with  their  clients  or  strive  more  earnestly,  even  in 
the  smallest  details,  to  meet  their  wishes.  So  long  as  these 
buildings  endure  will  the  sons  of  Union  Theological  Seminary 
recognize  their  debt. 

Not  only  do  we  feel  our  indebtedness  to  givers,  to  Directors 
and  architects,  but  we  recognize  our  indebtedness  to  the  Uni- 
versities of  New  York.  Our  long  friendship  has  not  been 
distant  nor  casual,  but  intimate,  and  the  debt  has  been  ours. 
There  have  been  the  heartiest  co-operation  and  the  freest  lib- 
erty. Our  students  have  been  welcomed  to  the  class-rooms 
and  we  have  welcomed  the  instruction  that  they  have  there 
received.  Our  harmony  with  the  University  is  not  some 
chance  reconcilement  of  theology  with  science,  for  there  is  no 
trace  of  that  supposed  antagonism,  and  this  is  not  because  we 
compromise  or  ask  compromise,  but  because  we  recognize  that 
the  instruction  of  the  University  in  many  subjects  like  biology, 
psychology,  sociology,  history,  philosophy,  is  given  as  we  would 


159 

have  it  given,  without  fear  and  without  favor  by  men  intent 
upon  knowing  and  teaching  the  truth.  We  do  not  look  upon 
the  university  as  something  foreign  in  which  we  have  no  part, 
for  in  earnest  seeking  after  truth  there  is  no  distinction  be- 
tween scientists  and  theologians — for  where  truth  is  there  is 
God.  Moreover,  the  so-called  hostility  has  passed  because  to- 
day the  method  of  theological  study  is  none  other  than  the 
method  of  the  sciences.  We  may  have  our  differences,  as 
biologists  differ  from  psychologists,  but  beneath  all  such  super- 
ficial diversities  is  the  deep  unity  that  comes  from  a  spirit 
devoted  to  truth  and  from  the  understanding  that  in  the  same 
way  and  by  the  same  methods  all  truth  is  to  be  attained.  Thus 
recognizing  our  indebtedness,  it  is  our  desire  that  it  may  be 
repaid,  though  only  in  part  can  it  be  repaid. 

We  recognize  our  indebtedness  to  men  without  represent- 
ative here  to-day,  who  were  not  present  in  the  Chapel  this 
afternoon  and  yet  without  whom  our  dreams  would  have  re- 
mained dreams,  without  whom  all  the  artistic  skill  of  the 
architects  would  have  been  futile.  We  recognize  our  indebted- 
ness to  the  community  of  so-called  common  men,  to  the  men 
who  dug  the  stone  from  the  foundations,  who  laid  it  strong 
and  well,  to  the  artisans  of  every  class,  the  representatives  of 
more  than  fifty  trades,  to  the  laboring  men  of  New  York. 
From  an  intimate  association  with  them  in  the  two  years  past, 
I  bear  testimony  to  their  faithfulness,  their  thoroughness,  their 
ability,  their  earnestness,  their  honesty,  their  thoroughgoing 
sympathy  with  their  work.  While  we  dwell  in  the  structure 
which  they  have  reared,  which,  alas,  has  known  the  death  of 
some  of  them,  we  shall  hold  them  in  grateful  remembrance 
and  recognize  our  debt. 

Recognizing  this  indebtedness  to  benefactors.  Directors, 
architects,  universities,  artisans — a  question  presses  for  an  an- 
swer— what  return  can  Union  Seminary  make,  what  gifts  has 
it  for  the  community  which  has  made  the  Seminary  possible? 
What  gift  has  religion  for  this  age,  this  democratic,  scientific, 
progressive  age  whose  watchword  is  evolution,  whose  philoso- 
phy is  the  philosophy  of  change — for  this  age  with  its  mar- 
velous advance  in  things  material,  with  its  sublime  self-con- 
fidence and  throbbing  life?  What  gift  has  religion  for  this 
city,  for  its  financiers,  its  students,  its  artists,  its  politicians,  its 
artisans,  its  endless  varieties  of  sorts  and  conditions  of  men? 
Can  Union  Seminary  help  to  answer  that  question? 

These  buildings  constitute  for  us  a  challenge.  In  some 
way  this  great  question  will  be  answered  so  that  the  state  and 


160 

nation  and  lands  beyond  the  sea  shall  understand  that  as  in 
the  ages  past  religion  wrought  its  message  into  the  life  of  the 
race,  so  for  our  time  also  it  has  a  message,  true,  essential, 
vital.  That  we  may  have  our  part  in  forming  this  answer  will 
be  our  repayment  of  our  indebtedness — that  it  shall  be  an- 
swered we  know,  as  we  believe  in  the  God  of  truth  whose  we 
are  and  whom  we  serve. 

Mr.  Ogden  : 

We  are  fortunate  in  having  present  as  one  of  the  repre- 
sentative guests  on  this  occasion  the  Reverend  President  James 
G.  K.  McClure,  of  McCormick  Seminary  in  Chicago,  who  will 
speak  to  us  on  "  Our  Sister  Seminaries." 

The  Reverend  President  James  G.  K.  McClure: 
Mr.  Ogden,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen : 

The  message  that  I  am  to  bring  you  to-night  is  this,  in  two 
words.  Congratulation  and  Confidence.  The  Seminaries  that 
are  represented  here  to-night,  widely  scattered  as  they  are, 
diversified  in  their  form  and  teaching,  are  interested  most 
deeply  in  that  which  has  been  spread  before  our  eyes  to-day. 
Every  casual  observer  has  been  immediately  impressed  by  the 
beauty  and  the  accommodations  of  the  buildings,  but  we  who 
represent  the  Seminaries  have  examined  these  buildings  from 
the  lowest  basement  to  the  topmost  story,  and  we  have  noted 
how  complete  in  every  respect  is  the  provision  for  the  work 
that  is  to  be  done.  We  congratulate  Union  Theological  Sem- 
inary not  alone  upon  the  material  plant  which  is  the  most 
stately  and  dignified  of  all  institutions  of  the  kind  in  the  world, 
but  we  congratulate  Union  Seminary  upon  this  assemblage  of 
to-night. 

We  know  the  experiences  of  our  own  lives,  when  we  were 
facing  the  great  question  as  to  whether  we  should  give  our- 
selves to  the  ministry  or  not,  and  we  recall  our  prayers  which 
brought  us  into  sweet  fellowship  with  God. 

We  know  that  gathered  here  to-night  are  men,  ministers 
and  laymen  who  have  come  to  express  the  high  hope  that  every 
wish  that  Union  Theological  Seminary  has  for  herself  may  be 
fully  accomplished,  and  that  there  shall  be  indeed  beautiful 
piety  here,  and  profound  scholarship  and  application  to  all  the 
needs  of  humanity.  That  is  our  word  of  congratulation,  and 
it  is  from  a  full  heart. 


161 

Our  other  word  is  a  word  of  confidence,  confidence  in  the 
product  of  the  Theological  Seminary,  the  ministry.  We  be- 
lieve with  our  whole  being  that  there  is  no  need  so  great  in 
the  entire  earth  as  the  need  of  the  minister  of  God  who  goes 
to  spread  the  ideals  that  are  so  essential  to  the  truest  welfare 
of  the  people,  and  who  professes  the  faith  so  that  the  vision 
of  God  becomes  clear,  and  who  sees  it  in  its  relationship  to 
society  and  to  true  righteousness  before  God.  The  man  who 
can  lift  the  heart  of  his  brother  up  to  highest  heaven  is  the 
man  of  all  the  earth  in  his  kingship  and  in  the  dignity  that 
God  has  conferred  upon  him. 

The  glory  of  the  ministry  is  a  wondrous  glory.  Here  to- 
night we  sit  in  our  luxurious  surroundings.  The  graduates  of 
this  Seminary  are  scattered  to  every  portion  of  the  earth,  many 
of  them  in  little  bits  of  places  where  they  are  dealing  with 
hardships  that  are  scarcely  intelligible  to  us.  Those  men  in 
their  places,  doing  the  work  that  God  has  assigned  to  them, 
are  our  brothers :  this  Seminary  has  given  them,  and  they  are 
for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  good  of  the  world. 

What  I  long  for  when  I  see  such  buildings  as  these  is  that 
not  only  out  of  the  homes  of  the  common  people,  out  of  the 
homes  where  thrift  is  a  necessity,  there  shall  be  brought  the 
young  men  who  are  to  be  our  ministers,  but  that  out  of  the 
homes  of  the  greatest  wealth  there  shall  come  the  consecrated 
sons  who  shall  have  refinement  bred  into  them  from  all  the 
atmosphere  of  their  home  surroundings,  and  who  shall  be  able 
to  go  anywhere  and  everywhere  and  stand  in  perfect  equality 
with  those  of  the  highest  gifts  and  station ;  who  shall  always 
have  back  of  them,  as  they  preach  the  truth  as  God  has  re- 
vealed it  to  them,  such  a  substance  of  material  power  that  they 
are  elevated  above  mere  dependence  upon  salary,  and  can  sway 
men  as  a  man  sways  his  fellowmen  when  they  are  upon  the 
same  platform  of  equality. 

And  this,  also,  is  what  I  wish,  that  we  who  believe  in  God 
— and  once  again  register  our  belief — when  we  have  given 
scholarship  and  when  we  have  given  the  appeals  of  piety,  and 
when  w^e  have  set  before  men  the  appeals  of  truth,  that  we 
insist  that  every  man  of  them  shall  have  a  character  of  per- 
sonal piety.  Blessed  is  the  man  that  shall  always  create  an 
atmosphere  wherever  he  goes,  making  it  evident  that  he  is  a 
man  of  God,  so  that  the  wicked  man  shall  be  rebuked  in  that 
presence,  and  the  discouraged  man  find  the  vision  of  heaven 
open  to  him  with  a  new  benediction. 

And  I  have  a  second  word  of  confidence.    The  Church  of 


162 

Jesus  Christ — I  do  not  attempt  to  make  a  definition  of  it, 
though  to  me  it  consists  of  those  who  believe  in  the  God  and 
Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  rejoice  in  worship,  fel- 
lowship, and  the  advance  of  the  Kingdom — the  Church  of 
Jesus  Christ  to-day  in  her  potentialities  is  sufficient  for  the 
needs  of  the  hour.  We  hear  so  often  criticism  upon  our  weak- 
ness, upon  our  inability  to  cope  with  that  which  to-day  is  call- 
ing for  solution.  In  spite  of  this  the  Church  is  being  led  on 
step  by  step ;  but  she  will  be  led  by  very  rapid  steps  in  a  very 
short  time,  for  Christ  is  in  his  Church,  and  he  is  with  us  all 
and  these  problems  are  to  be  solved :  and  the  ministers  that 
Union  Theological  Seminary  is  preparing,  and  all  other  Sem- 
inaries are  preparing,  through  the  Church  are  to  bring  in  the 
Kingdom,  and  it  is  to  be  a  glorious  Kingdom,  sufficient  for 
the  needs  of  every  man,  the  highest  as  well  as  the  lowest. 

Before  I  go  away  to-night,  I  have  another  word  of  con- 
fidence, confidence  in  the  purpose  of  God.  There  is  such  a 
purpose.  The  good  pleasure  of  God  is  that  to  such  as  our- 
selves, instructed  in  this  and  other  seminaries,  and  those  who 
were  under  us,  shall  be  given  the  Kingdom. 

Some  years  ago,  when  the  Westminster  Confession  was 
being  revised,  the  Committee  which  had  in  charge  the  work 
visited  Washington,  and  audience  was  given  them  at  the  White 
House,  and  Mr.  McKinley  courteously  turned  to  one  of  the 
Committee  and  he  said,  "  I  hope  that  in  the  revision  you  will 
not  take  out  '  predestination.'  "  The  representative  of  another 
communion,  a  brother  of  Charles  Wesley,  said,  "  Who  can 
resist  His  will  ?  "  And  I  believe  that  there  is  no  man  any- 
where in  our  world  who  understands  what  the  ministry  is 
striving  for,  what  the  mission  of  the  Church  is,  what  the  needs 
of  mankind  are,  what  the  problems  of  the  present  are,  who 
does  not  realize  strength  in  the  fact  that  he  can  look  up  into 
the  skies  and  he  can  believe  that  there  is  an  Eternal  Purpose. 
He  himself  has  seen  its  eflfect.  All  through  history  there 
comes  the  direct  assurance  in  fact  that  evil  cannot  live,  that 
good  must  live,  and  that  there  is  the  instruction  for  every  min- 
ister, "  Fight  against  Caesar."  And  as  we  separate  to-night 
I  would  have  every  man  of  us  go  out  with  the  voice  of  triumph 
on  his  lips.  Union  Seminary  and  all  our  Seminaries  are  set 
to  do  a  mighty  work,  the  remaking  of  the  human  heart,  the 
bringing  of  the  manhood  into  the  likeness  of  Jesus  Christ  Him- 
self, and  that  is  the  result  that  we  seek,  and  you  and  I,  repre- 
senting the  Seminaries  that  are  near  to  our  hearts,  must  part 
to-night  knowing  that  the  purpose  of  God  will  not  fail. 


163 

Mr.  Ogden  : 

It  is  all  summed  up  in  the  title  of  the  next  speech,  which 
will  be  on  the  "  Spirit  of  Service."  The  speaker  will  be  the 
Rev.  President  William  H.  P.  Faunce,  of  Brown  University. 

The  Rev,  President  William  H.  P.  Faunce: 

I  seem  to  be  the  only  barrier  left  between  this  assembly 
and  one  whom  it  is  eager  to  hear,  President  Brown.  I  promise 
you  that  this  barrier  will  very  speedily  vanish,  but  not  until  I 
have  offered  greeting  to  this  Seminary  from  the  city  of  Roger 
Williams. 

In  the  old  meeting-house  where  we  hold  our  annual  com- 
mencements, at  the  foot  of  College  Hill,  there  is  a  quaint  in- 
scription on  the  old  church  records  of  1775,  which  reads: 
"  This  meeting-house  was  built  for  the  worship  of  God,  and 
to  hold  commencements  in."  That  shows  how  education  and 
religion  were  united  in  the  minds  and  the  hearts  of  some  of 
our  founders  of  the  institutions  of  our  eastern  states. 

Every  building  is  a  confession  of  faith.  Somehow  a  man's 
creed  gets  itself  uttered  in  the  structure  he  erects.  Oftentimes 
the  building  expresses  the  faith  more  deeply  than  any  possible 
formula.  I  would  not  judge  a  whole  nation  by  a  single  in- 
stance, but  is  there  no  suggestion  in  the  fact  that  the  central 
building  of  London  and  Great  Britain  is  the  House  of  Parlia- 
ment ?  In  that  nation  where  freedom  "  has  slowly  broadened 
down  from  precedent  to  precedent,"  there  the  home  of  law, 
and  of  liberty  under  law,  finds  the  central  place.  And  when 
we  cross  the  Channel — again  I  would  not  generalize  from  a 
single  instance — is  there  no  suggestion  in  the  fact  that  the  cen- 
ter of  Parisian  life  is  the  opera  house? 

What  faith,  then,  is  here  confessed  in  the  superb  new 
structures  of  Union  Theological  Seminary?  Certainly  a  pro- 
found faith  in  religious  education ;  in  religion  as  central  in 
human  life ;  and  in  the  Christian  prophet  as  exercising  indis- 
pensable function  in  a  democracy.  Clearly  also  the  Seminary 
has  here  put  in  buildings  its  faith  in  the  closer  articulation,  the 
essential  unity  of  the  modern  church  and  modern  society.  This 
style  of  architecture  is  one  which  no  school  in  this  country 
probably  would  have  attempted  fifty  years  ago.  The  old-time 
college  or  seminary  buildings  incorporated  the  Puritan  indi- 
vidualism. Each  structure  on  the  hill  at  Andover  Seminary 
stands  plain,  severe,  rectangular,  owing  no  allegiance  to  any 
other  building  on  the  horizon.    The  buildings  of  Newton  The- 


164 

ological  Seminary,  where  I  studied,  have  a  similar  isolation 
and  obliviousness  to  the  presence  of  any  other  structure.  But 
here  in  Union  henceforth  will  be  preached  each  day,  in  this  uni- 
fied group  of  buildings,  our  faith  in  the  solidarity  of  society 
and  our  prayer  for  the  visible  unity  of  American  Christianity. 

I  have  attended  three  great  educational  functions  during 
this  autumn.  One  was  the  inauguration  of  the  President  of 
Smith  College,  where  I  saw  seventeen  hundred  women  stu- 
dents— the  largest  assemblage  of  women  ever  gathered  for 
educational  purposes  in  one  institution.  The  second  was  the 
very  brilliant  function  at  Bryn  Mawr  College — whose  presi- 
dent is  happily  with  us  to-night — when  that  college  celebrated 
its  twenty-fifth  anniversary.  But  this  function  at  Union  Sem- 
inary we  must  acknowledge  does  not  suffer  in  comparison 
with  any  academic  festival  that  has  gone  before. 

It  will  do  New  York  City  good  to  have  a  "  School  of  the 
Prophets  "  loom  big  in  the  public  eye.  It  is  good  for  "  the 
city  of  the  flatiron  "  to  be  also  the  site  of  magnificent  structures 
devoted  to  the  equipment  of  the  modern  prophet.  It  is  good 
for  the  city  of  sky-scrapers  and  railroad  stations  and  subways 
to  have  also  a  great  habitation  for  ministers  of  the  Christian 
faith — a  habitation  which  no  traveler  can  ignore,  of  whose  ex- 
istence no  business  man  can  long  be  ignorant. 

Without  the  prophets  all  our  captains  of  industry  and  all 
our  scholars  will  lead  us  astray,  for  the  function  of  the  prophet 
is  to  tell  us  what  is  worth  while ;  to  give  us  the  true  perspective 
of  life  in  the  twentieth  century.  We  have  no  great  back- 
ground of  history  as  has  Europe ;  no  long  ancestral  customs 
like  the  orient.  We  see  things  vividly,  instantaneously,  as  it 
were  by  snap-shot,  and  we  confuse  the  things  of  passing  mo- 
ment with  the  things  that  abide.  It  is  good  for  this  city  to 
be  told  in  clear  voice  what  is  worth  while. 

When  the  beloved  former  president  of  this  Seminary 
passed  into  the  unseen,  I  took  up  a  newspaper  and  found  a 
dozen  lines  devoted  to  his  great  career,  while  two  columns  in 
the  same  journal  were  given  to  the  death  of  a  famous  race 
horse.  It  is  useless  to  find  fault  with  the  newspapers  in  such 
a  case.  It  is  you  and  I,  it  is  the  city  of  which  we  are  a  part, 
which  is  to  blame — exalting  the  thing  of  the  moment  and  ig- 
noring the  essential.  The  prophet  is  to  make  us  see  the  dif- 
ference. 

So  I  want  to  tell  you  that  institutions  far  outside  the 
metropolitan  district  rejoice  with  you.  Denominations  outside 
your  own  are  getting  weary  of  questions  of  procedure  and 


1G5 

ceremony,  and  long  for  the  essential  verities  of  the  Christian 
faith.  Every  man  who  is  filled  with  such  longing  must  he 
glad  to-night  in  your  gladness.  At  these  tables  we  see  the 
foreglimpse  of  the  time  of  which  William  Watson  sang — if  I 
may  change  one  word  in  his  musical  verse: 

"  The  coming  of  the  morn  divine, 
When  churches  shall  as  forests  grow ; 
Wherein  the  oak  hates  not  the  pine, 
Nor  beeches  wish  the  cedars  woe; 
But  all  in  their  unlikeness  blend. 
Confederate  to  one  golden  end." 

Mr.  Ogden  : 

The  last  number  is  "  Retrospect  and  Prospect,"  to  which 
the  head  of  the  Union  Theological  Seminary,  the  Rev.  Presi- 
dent Francis  Brown,  will  respond. 

The  Rev.  President  Francis  Brown  : 
Mr.  Ogden  and  Friends  of  the  Seminary : 

We  appreciate  all  the  kind  words  that  have  been  spoken, 
and  the  tribute  which  this  assembly  has  paid  to  the  Seminary. 
It  is  too  late  either  to  spend  time  in  reviewing  the  past  or  to 
attempt  any  elaborate  sketch  of  the  future,  but  we  are  glad  to 
have  offered  the  occasion  for  a  meeting  like  this,  for  the  no- 
table presences  that  have  graced  it  and  for  the  significant  words 
that  have  been  uttered  in  it.  And  if,  as  you  carry  them  with 
you  in  your  minds — these  strong,  able,  clear  words — you  will 
associate  with  them  gome  thought  of  the  Union  Theological 
Seminary,  we  shall  be  glad  of  that  too. 

It  might  seem  to  an  onlooker  as  though  the  occasion  of 
this  day's  celebration  and  of  this  great  gathering  were  a  very 
small  one — two  hundred  students,  twenty  instructors — what  is 
that  compared  with  the  thousands  of  the  great  institutions? 
The  real  significance  of  it  all  has  been  expressed  here  more 
than  once  to-night.  It  simply  means  that  you  as  well  as  we 
are  in  your  inmost  hearts  aware  that  the  world  is  ruled  by 
things  out  of  sight,  and  that  the  testimony  of  things  out  of 
sight  is  that  testimony  which  wins  a  response  from  the  deepest 
depth  of  the  human  heart,  and  that  the  reality  of  the  things 
out  of  sight  is  the  reality  that  controls  the  world. 

We  are  trying — and  we  know  in  some  measure  the  diffi- 
culty of  our  task — we  are  trying  to  express  the  old  religion  in 


166 

terms  that  can  be  understood  by  the  new  generation  and  that 
can  lay  hold  of  the  heart  and  conscience  of  that  generation. 
It  is  no  light  thing  to  undertake,  and  we  do  not  claim  to  be 
alone  in  undertaking  it,  but  we  feel  ourselves  committed  to  it. 
We  try  to  express  in  our  actions,  as  in  our  words,  our  sense 
of  human  brotherhood  without  losing  our  religion  in  our 
brotherhood,  and  in  all  our  activity  we  are  conscious  that  we 
are  only  servants  and  not  masters,  and  we  desire  to  be  used 
and  not  simply  to  control. 

Most  of  our  work  is  very  quiet,  apart  from  public  gaze. 
We  publish  some  books ;  few  of  you  read  them — and  why 
should  you  read  them?  We  offer  some  public  lectures,  some 
courses  of  sermons,  occasional  indications  of  our  presence  in 
the  community;  but  after  all  our  real,  steady  work  is  quite 
out  of  sight,  and  there  it  must  remain,  like  the  work  of  all 
teachers,  except  as  its  result  appears  at  some  remove  in  time 
and  space  from  our  workshop,  and  in  a  connection  where  few 
if  any  can  think  of  the  workshop  from  which  it  came — and 
that  is  all  as  it  should  be. 

But  we  shall  be  glad  if,  when  the  temporary  impression  of 
this  day  and  this  evening  is  fading  out  of  your  minds,  you  will 
still  sometimes  remember  that  we  are  all  the  while,  and  year 
after  year,  trying  earnestly  and  patiently  and  quietly  and  with 
what  power  we  have  to  accomplish  this  service,  which  is  a 
service  not  to  ourselves  but  to  you  and  to  the  community  of 
people,  reaching  on  and  on  throughout  the  world — and  to  God 
to  whom  the  world  belongs. 

We  are  not  ashamed  to  say  that  we  still  need  the  aid  of 
those  who  can  aid  us  in  material  things.  No  institution  ever 
had  such  friends  as  we  have  had  and  have.  It  is  their  gen- 
erosity and  the  place  in  which  they  have  set  us  that  enlarge 
our  needs.  And  I  speak  of  this  only  that  you  may  not  be 
surprised,  or  think  us  grasping,  if  now  and  then  you  learn  of 
some  appeal  from  us  for  things  we  need  to  do  a  larger  work 
for  our  Master. 

A  single  last  word  of  retrospect.  I  remember,  and  some 
of  those  here  will  remember,  how  the  year  after  we  entered 
the  home  of  the  Seminary  on  Lenox  Hill,  Doctor  Hitchcock 
observed  the  thirtieth  anniversary  of  his  connection  with  the 
Seminary,  and  in  words  of  deep  feeling,  few  but  choice  and 
powerful,  he  referred  to  the  history  of  those  past  years,  and 
the  strong  lives  that  had  filled  them.  Then  he  told  that  story 
of  Kossuth,  who,  when  he  was  here  long  ago,  spoke  for  Hun- 
gary,  and   in  the  midst  of   an   impassioned   period,   suddenly 


167 

stopped  and  stood  silent  for  half  a  minute,  and  then  brushed 
his  hand  over  his  face,  and  said,  "  Pardon  me,  gentlemen,  I 
saw  the  shades  of  my  ancestors !  " 

At  a  time  like  this  we  see  the  spirits  of  those  whose  bodies 
are  not  here  with  us,  of  those  who,  humanly  speaking,  ought 
to  be  standing  where  we  stand,  and  sitting  where  we  sit,  and 
we  rejoice  to  know,  as  in  our  hearts  we  do  know,  that  their 
sympathy  is  with  us  and  that  their  souls  rejoice. 

And  now  as  we  look  forward,  we  do  it  not  without  some 
touch  of  apprehension  and  yet  not  without  a  large  and  radiant 
hope.  You  may  not  always  agree  with  us :  you  will,  I  think, 
believe  that  our  wishes  at  least  are  high,  and  our  purposes  not 
wholly  ignoble,  and  we  beg  of  you  to  feel  that  you  and  we 
are  united,  and  united  with  all  people  throughout  the  world 
who  aim  at  the  best  things,  in  "  looking  for  and  earnestly  de- 
siring the  coming  of  the  day  of  God." 


ffiSt 


*  '\ 


IBYINQ    PBBSS 

New  Yobk 


